Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on a national plan to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on July 31, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

VILNIUS / TORONTO / MEXICO CITY / BOGOTA / RIO DE JANEIRO - Top government infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Friday he disagreed with President Donald Trump’s assessment the United States has “rounded the corner” on the coronavirus pandemic, saying the statistics are disturbing.

Fauci, the outspoken director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the United States was starting the flu season with a high baseline of around 40,000 new cases a day and deaths are averaging around 1,000 daily.

Trump, who has admitted playing down the severity of the virus since it emerged early this presidential election year, said on Thursday he believed the United States was “rounding the corner” on the crisis.

“I have to disagree with that, because, if you look at the thing that you just mentioned, the statistics ... they are disturbing,” Fauci said on MSNBC.

ALSO READ: UN's Guterres calls for US$35b more for WHO vaccine program

Fauci said he hoped the country did not see a spike in cases after the Labor Day weekend as it did after other long holiday weekends since May.

It was important to get those infection rates down before the autumn and winter seasons when people will be spending more time indoors. “You don’t want to start off already with a baseline that’s so high,” Fauci said.

Asked about the outdoor campaign rallies Trump has resumed before his Nov. 3 matchup against Democrat Joe Biden, Fauci said they are “absolutely” risky.

“Just because you’re outdoors does not mean that you’re protected, particularly if you’re in a crowd and you’re not wearing masks,” he said.

Fauci, who has contradicted Trump’s statements about the virus, denies the administration is pressuring him to keep quiet.

Coronavirus cases in the US increased 0.8 percent as compared with the same time Thursday to 6.43 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The increase was higher than the average daily gain of 0.6 percent over the past week. Deaths rose by 0.6 percent to 192,616.

A man wears a face mask as he waits for the bus at a bus stop in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 29, 2020, amid of the pandemic. (PHOTO / AFP)

EU

The first European pandemic “travel bubble”, created in May by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, burst on Friday, as Latvia said it was mandating a 14-day quarantine on everyone arriving from Estonia.

Estonia has had 21 novel coronavirus infections per 100,000 population over the previous two weeks, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, passing the 16 threshold set by Latvia for mandatory quarantine.

Latvia, which has one of the lowest levels of infection in the European Union, has rejected the European Commission’s recommendation to raise threshold for quarantine to 25 new cases per 100,000 population over two weeks.

“This is a decision I am not ready for ... I do not think that society is ready to allow more people to enter Latvia,” Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said on Friday, according to LETA agency.

Neighboring Estonia, Lithuania and Finland all raised the threshold this week, keeping travel between them possible.

Sales of international bus tickets already fell by 20 percent last week, as people were getting worried the bubble could burst, said Rait Remmel of Lux Express, a regional bus company.

“The demand recovered over the summer, but now people obviously will not travel much, and we will need to cut our routes”, he said.

The crisis has been resurging towards the end of the summer elsewhere in European Union too, with the sharpest spikes reported in France and Spain.

The global death toll from the coronavirus passed 900,000 on Wednesday, as worldwide cases topped 27.7 million, according to a Reuters tally.

In a bid to curb the rising spread of the virus, Lithuania reintroduced the requirement to wear facemasks inside public buildings and announced restrictions on public gatherings.

“We relaxed and began travelling, gathering together, interacting more. Since the virus was never totally exterminated, so it began spreading”, Lithuanian Minister of Health Aurelijus Veryga said.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania created the first common travel space in the European Union on May 15 in a bid to jump-start economies.

Canada

Canada reported zero COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours for the first time since March 15, according to public health agency data released late on Friday.

Canada’s death toll from the pandemic stood at 9,163 as of Sept. 11, the same as the number of the deaths reported on Sept. 10, government data showed. The number of positive cases rose by 702 to 135,626 on Sept. 11 from the previous day, the data showed.

With most provinces easing lockdown restrictions and as schools reopen for in-person classes, Canada’s infections have seen a mild pick-up in recent days. Authorities have been on high alert to avoid fresh outbreaks, and provinces including British Columbia have imposed new curbs to tackle the spread of the virus.

READ MORE: Doubts cast on vaccine before election

Still, Canada’s situation looks relatively healthy compared to its southern neighbor. Across the border in the United States, more than 190,000 people have died from the pandemic and more than 6.38 million people have been infected.

Mexico

The confirmed coronavirus death toll in Mexico on Friday topped 70,000 after the government reported more than 500 new deaths, a grim milestone for a country among those most affected by the pandemic.

Making matters worse, excess mortality data from mid-March through early August indicates that the total number of deaths beyond the official count is likely tens of thousands higher.

Health officials late on Friday reported 534 new deaths linked to the virus, bringing the total to 70,183. Another 5,935 cases bring the total to 658,299.

The spread of the virus has ravaged an already ailing economy, which is now seen contracting by up to 13 percent this year, the deepest recession since the 1930s-era Great Depression.

Based on official data, Mexico is the nation with the fourth highest number of deaths globally, and the 13th highest on a per capita basis, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

But earlier this month, the health ministry said it recorded more than 120,000 “extra” deaths from mid-March through August 1. The measure compares mortality figures this year with a four-year average from 2015 to 2018.

Brazil remains No. 1 in Latin America, the region with the most infections globally, for both confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. It has posted a total of 4.2 million infections and more than 128,000 deaths so far.

Colombia

Coronavirus cases in Colombia, which ended more than five months of lockdown at the start of the month, surpassed 700,000 on Friday as deaths from the virus climbed toward 23,000.

The Andean country has 702,088 confirmed cases of the virus according to the health ministry, with 22,518 reported deaths. Active cases number 95,398.

Colombia began its months-long lockdown in March. It is now in a much-looser “selective” quarantine phase and making plans to restart international flights.

Intensive care units in Bogota are at about 62 percent capacity, according to local health authorities. The capital is home to a third of Colombia’s cases.

Brazil

Brazil registered 874 novel coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours and 43,718 additional cases, the nation’s health ministry said on Friday.

The country has now registered 130,396 coronavirus deaths and 4,282,164 confirmed cases in total.

France

French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Friday his government was not planning a new, nationwide lockdown to contain a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, but would instead implement a raft of less radical measures.

France has the world’s seventh highest COVID death toll, and President Emmanuel Macron’s government is trying to curb the virus while ensuring that economic and social activities, such as schoolchildren’s education, can continue as much as possible.

Castex said new measures would include fast-tracked testing for priority cases to reduce time spent waiting for results, and targeted restrictions in areas hit especially hard.

“The virus is with us for several more months and we must manage to live with it without letting ourselves get drawn once again into a narrative of nationwide lockdown,” Castex said in a televised address.

France reported 9,406 new COVID cases on Friday, which followed 9,843 new cases recorded on Thursday.

The government also revised its earlier COVID statistics to show that French COVID deaths had risen by 80 over the last 24 hours to stand at 30,893 casualties.

Italy

Italy reported 1,616 new cases Friday, compared with 1,597 the previous day and slightly higher than the previous seven-day average of 1,454. Ten deaths were reported, in line with Thursday. Patients in intensive care units rose by 11 to 175 from a low of 38 at the end of July. That still compares with a peak of more than 4,000 ICU patients in early April.

Even as Lombardy, the original epicenter, still accounts for a large part of the infected, summer travel resulted in the region around Rome recording the highest number of hospitalized patients.

Spain

Princess Leonor, the heir to the Spanish throne, has gone into quarantine after a classmate at her school tested positive for COVID-19, the royal household said on Saturday.

The 14-year-old daughter of King Felipe will be tested for coronavirus like other pupils in her class at the Santa María de los Rosales school in Madrid.

The king and Queen Letizia will continue their royal duties for the moment, a spokesman for the royal household said, as Spain struggles to control a surge in coronavirus cases.

Eight million Spanish children returned to school last week but some have closed or classes been sent home after pupils tested positive for COVID-19, while authorities in Galicia delayed the start of term by a week for pupils aged 14 to 18.

Spain reported 4,708 new coronavirus infections on Friday, bringing its cumulative total to 566,326, the highest in western Europe, as its total COVID-19 death toll rose to 29,747.

The Czech Republic

The Czech Republic registered a record number of new cases on Thursday, at 1,382, more than three-times as high as the peak during the pandemic’s early stages in March.

The worsening situation prompted authorities to order citizens to wear face masks in all public indoor spaces this week, after relatively relaxed social-distancing measures during summer holiday season.

ALSO READ: IMF: Coronavirus crisis 'far from over', more support needed

The country, one of Europe’s most successful in containing the initial outbreak, now has higher daily numbers of new cases per 100,000 people than neighboring Germany, Austria and Poland. The share of hospitalized patients has remained below 3 percent in September, compared with more than 10% in March. The government has tightened some measures, like limiting opening hours for restaurants and bars, but it has pledged not to reinstate a nationwide lockdown to minimize economic damage.

UK

Coronavirus is now spreading rapidly again across the UK for the first time since March, prompting ministers to urge the public to limit social activities.

Government figures put the so-called “R” rate -- the reproduction number that shows how fast the virus multiplies -- between 1.0 and 1.2, driven by a surge in cases among younger people. The virus is spreading exponentially when R is above 1. A separate study by Imperial College of more than 150,000 people in England estimated the R number as 1.7 and found the virus is now doubling every seven to eight days.

Austria

Austria is widening mask requirements, limiting the size of events and restricting restaurants and bars again after new infections rose to levels last seen in early April this week. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz warned that rising infections would damage the economy even if a second lockdown can be avoided, because it weighs on consumption, tourism and economic activity in general.

Masks, which had only been mandatory in supermarkets, banks and pharmacies after lockdown measures were eased, will now have to be worn in all shops, official buildings and in schools outside of classrooms again. The audience for events is limited to 50 indoors, or 100 outdoors, or as much as 1,500 and 3,000 for events with designated seating and special distancing rules. Food and drinks can only be served in restaurants and bars for seated guests.

New infections were over 500 for the fourth day running, lifting the 7-day incidence per 100,000 population to 35 on Friday. That value stood at 84 for the capital Vienna.

Russia

Russia registered 5,488 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 1,057,362, the country's COVID-19 response center said in a statement Saturday.

Meanwhile, 119 new deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 18,484.

Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 670 new cases, bringing its tally of infections to 270,447, the center said.

According to the statement, 873,535 patients have recovered so far, including 5,428 over the past day.

As of Saturday, over 40.2 million tests have been conducted across the country.  

Ecuador

Ecuador's National Committee for Emergency Operations (COE), which is managing the health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), approved new guidelines on Friday that will come into force on Sept. 13 when the national state of emergency concludes.

The new guidelines include requiring a negative COVID-19 PCR test in order to enter the country by air, while the country's land borders and seaports will remain closed.

Additionally, face-to-face classes will be suspended, as will public events. Public and private sector employees will return to work while adhering to biosafety protocols.

Egypt 

Egypt recorded on Friday 151 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 100,708, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, 17 more patients died from coronavirus on Friday, raising the death toll to 5,607.

Meanwhile, 876 patients were cured and discharged from hospitals in the past 24 hours, taking the total recoveries to 82,473.

Egypt announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the highly infectious virus on March 8.

Amid declining COVID-19 infections and deaths, the most populous Arab country has been easing relevant restrictions over the past couple of months as part of a coexistence plan to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities.

Tunisia 

Tunisia on Friday recorded 377 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 6,259, said the Tunisian Ministry of Health.

In its daily epidemiological report, the ministry confirmed four new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 103.

"A total of 1,956 patients have recovered from the virus in Tunisia," said the ministry. "The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients reached 88 including 26 patients in intensive care units."

Since the opening of Tunisian borders on June 27, the country has detected 5,058 positive cases of COVID-19.

Algeria 

Algeria on Friday reported 264 new COVID-19 cases and eight new fatalities, bringing the total infections to 47,752 and the death toll to 1,599, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

It is the lowest daily infection increase since June 29, according to the ministry statement.

Meanwhile, 161 more patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 33,723.

Algeria has been resuming economic and commercial activities since June 7 as part of its efforts to return to normal life.

On Feb 25, Algeria recorded its first infection with COVID-19.

Morocco 

Morocco on Friday reported 2,430 new COVID-19 cases, the biggest single-day increase so far, taking the number of infections in the country since March 2 to 82,197.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 64,194 after 2,344 new ones were added, the ministry of health said in a statement.

The death toll rose to 1,524 with 33 new fatalities, while 252 people are in intensive care units.

The epidemiological situation linked to the coronavirus has undergone a huge surge in the North African country since August with daily cases exceeding 1,500 on average.

Finland 

Citing its criteria for "safe countries" for COVID-19, the Finnish government has decided to ease travel restrictions for citizens of several countries and has introduced new rules on testing travelers who wish to cross the country's borders, Finland's Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo said at a press conference here on Friday.

Late on Thursday, Finland defined 25 cases of infection per 100,000 inhabitants in the previous two weeks as the limit value above which citizens of any given country may or may not be permitted to enter the country. Travelers from countries where the infection rate does not exceed this limit value would be allowed to enter Finland without the requirement to spend two weeks in quarantine.

Ohisalo said that based on the new criteria, Finland will lift travel restrictions for residents of Iceland, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Cyprus and Germany from Sept. 19. The same rule will apply to citizens of non-European Union (EU) countries Australia, Canada and Japan. However, Finland will restore restrictions on travelers from Italy and Hungary.

From the beginning of October, the infection situation in each country will be monitored by the Finnish authorities on a weekly basis. For now, such reviews are conducted every two weeks. If the limit value is exceeded in any country or region, border controls will be reintroduced for inbound citizens from those areas, the government said.