Citizens wear face masks as they queue to vote on July 12, 2020 in Warsaw during the second round of Poland's presidential election. (PHOTO / AFP)

ADDIS ABABA / DUBLIN / TUNIS / LONDON -  Poland’s total number of coronavirus cases passed the 100,000 mark on Sunday, according to the health ministry’s Twitter account, as infection rates surge in the country which has reported daily records three times in the past week.

While Poland’s total number of cases remains well below that in many western European virus hotspots, reaching 100,000 illustrates how the spread of COVID-19 has accelerated in a country which avoided the worst of the first wave and where in July the prime minister played down risks ahead of an election.

The country of 38 million has now reported a total of 100,074 cases of the coronavirus and 2,630 deaths. On Sunday it reported 1,934 new daily cases and 26 deaths, after performing over 25,900 tests.

Poland quickly introduced strict lockdown measures during the early stages of the pandemic, but the ruling nationalist party Law and Justice (PiS) have said they want to avoid another economically damaging lockdown by introducing targeted measures in the worst affected places.

While the county’s industrial south had previously been the hardest hit region, with large outbreaks among coal miners, central and northern Poland have seen spiralling infection rates in recent weeks.

The Baltic seaside resort of Sopot has been added to the list of worst affected zones with the toughest restrictions. The capital Warsaw, in central Poland, is at risk of being added to one of the lists of zones with increased curbs on public life, the health ministry has said.

The largest country in the European Union’s eastern wing has announced new measures for the worst affected zones, including a requirement for bars and restaurants to shut by 10 pm.

Russia 

Russia reported 10,499 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the highest number of daily infections since May 15, when the outbreak was at its peak and lockdowns were in place.

Russia’s coronavirus crisis centre said that 107 coronavirus deaths had been confirmed in the last 24 hours, which took the official national death toll to 21,358.

France

France reported nearly 17,000 new confirmed coronavirus infections on Saturday, about 5,000 more than on the previous day, setting a new daily record.

The number of infections rose by 16,972 to a total of 606,625 cases, the health ministry said, more than the previous record of 16,096 registered last week.

The number of deaths increased by 49 to 32,198.

There were 4,087 new cases of people being hospitalised over the last seven days, including 849 in intensive care units. The figures are relatively stable compared with the previous report on Friday.

The rate of positive coronavirus tests in France rose to 7.9 percent from 7.7 percent on Friday.

Africa

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases in Africa reached 1,497,391 as of Saturday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll due to illnesses related to COVID-19 in Africa has reached 36,504 as of Saturday.

The continental disease control and prevention agency also said the number of people who have recovered from the infectious virus across the continent reached 1,236,859 so far.

Amid the uneven impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on African countries, the Africa CDC said that the most COVID-19 affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria, respectively.

The Southern Africa region is the most COVID-19 affected region both in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases as well as the number of deaths, it was noted.

The Northern Africa region is the second most COVID-19-affected African region, it was noted.

South Africa currently has the most COVID-19 cases, which hit 677,833. The country also has the highest number of deaths related to COVID-19, at 16,909, according to the Africa CDC. 

US

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday asked residents in the state to "stay vigilant" over COVID-19, as the latest tolls showed that new coronavirus cases continued on an upward trend.

"Of the 134,267 tests reported yesterday (Oct 2), 1,731 were positive," tweeted Cuomo. The numbers could be translated into a positive ratio of 1.29 percent, and it was 1.34 percent a day before. Such levels have not been seen in New York since May.

"Total hospitalizations are at 647. Sadly, there were 6 COVID fatalities yesterday," the governor added.

"This pandemic is not over," said Cuomo in a statement. "My message to New Yorkers is please stay vigilant."

Some of the hotspots in the state included the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where over 350 people tested positive, and in suburban Rockland County, where at least 120 new cases occurred.

According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, the US coronavirus death toll stood at 209,187 as of 4:23 p.m. Saturday, and New York remains one of the worst-hit states by the pandemic in the country.

Ireland

Ireland is seeing a “significant escalation” in COVID-19 infections, the acting chief medical officer said on Saturday after reporting the highest number of daily cases since late April.

Like most of Europe, Ireland has seen a steady increase in infections since the end of July and has tightened restrictions as a result, including banning all indoor restaurant dining and most trips in and out of the capital, Dublin.

The 613 new cases was the highest daily total since Ireland was in a full lockdown. Ten more people died, bringing the total number of coronavirus- related deaths to 1,810. Eight of those deaths occurred prior to September, the health ministry said.

“The numbers being reported today and over the past week represent a significant escalation in the profile of COVID-19 in Ireland,” acting chief medical officer Ronan Glynn said in a statement.

Glynn urged people over the age of 70 and those who are medically vulnerable to COVID-19 to limit the number of people they meet to a very small core group of family members, carers or friends, and for short periods of time.

Ireland has reported just over 100 cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days, the 16th-highest COVID-19 infection rate out of 31 European countries monitored by the European Centre for Disease Control.

The British-run region of Northern Ireland, which shares an open border with Ireland, reported 726 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, having smashed its record daily total a day earlier to bring its seven-day cumulative case total to 164.7 per 100,000 people.

Tunisia

Tunisian authorities will ban all gatherings and reduce working hours for employees in the public sector in order to stop the rapid spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said on Saturday.

The decision was taken amid strong fears that hospitals in the North African nation will be unable to cope with a high number of patients because of the shortage of intensive-care beds.

The total number of coronavirus cases has jumped to more than 20,000 compared with roughly 1,000 cases before the country’s borders were reopened on June 27.

In a speech announcing the latest measures to combat the virus, Mechichi said he gave orders to Tunisia’s governors to implement a regional lockdown if necessary. But he added it was unthinkable to reimpose a nationwide lockdown because of the unprecedented economic collapse caused by the first lockdown in March.

Tunisia’s tourism-dependent economy shrank 21.6 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year as a result of the pandemic and measures to curb it.

UK

Britain reported 12,872 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, a record daily figure for the country, with the government blaming the jump on a reporting delay and saying the numbers in coming days would include additional cases.

The government’s website said a technical issue had delayed publishing a number of new COVID-19 cases.

“This means the total reported over the coming days will include some additional cases from the period between 24 September and 1 October, increasing the number of cases reported,” it said.

At 12,872, the number of daily cases reported almost doubled from the 6,968 reported on Friday, smashing the previous biggest daily toll of 7,143, which was recorded on Tuesday.

Britain is now processing more than 200,000 COVID-19 tests a day compared with fewer than 100,000 at the start of the pandemic.

But the technical issue could be seized on by critics who say the government has lost control of the virus amid a shortage of testing capacity.

The number of deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test fell to 49 on Saturday from 66 the previous day.

Hungary

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government agreed with the Hungarian Medical Chamber on a substantial wage hike for doctors on Saturday, as the country braces for a further rise in coronavirus cases that could strain its healthcare system.

Hungary reported 1,086 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections so far to 29,717 with 812 deaths.

Like many other east European countries, Hungary is grappling with a shortage of doctors and medical workers as local salaries pale in comparison to western European levels.

Gyula Kincses, chairman of the Hungarian Medical Chamber, said the government has accepted a proposed pay scale for doctors that would see base salaries for medical practitioners and doctors roughly double from current levels.

Brazil

The Brazilian Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that the country registered another 599 deaths from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 145,987.

According to the ministry, 26,310 new cases of the virus were registered over the last day, bringing the total to 4,906,833.

Brazil is the second country in the world in number of deaths caused by COVID-19, behind the United States, and third in the world in number of cases, behind the United States and India.

The state of Sao Paulo, the most populous in the country, has reported 1,003,429 cases of the virus, with 36,136 deaths. 

Tunisia

Tunisian Health Ministry on Saturday reported 1,223 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 20,944 with 276 deaths in the country.

A total of 238,671 lab tests have been carried out, of which 8.6 percent proved positive, the ministry said in a statement.

New urgent preventive measures will be taken to combat the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Tunisia, Minister of Health Faouzi Mehdi announced on Friday.

Algeria

Algeria on Saturday reported 148 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of the infections to 51,995, the Ministry of Health said.

The ministry also announced seven new fatalities from coronavirus, raising the death toll in the North African country to 1,756.

Meanwhile, 97 more patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 36,482.

Algeria, which reported its first COVID-19 case on Feb. 25, has been resuming economic and commercial activities since June 7 as part of its efforts to return to normal life.

Morocco

Morocco registered 2,663 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking the tally in the North African country since March 2 to 131,228, the health ministry said in a statement.

In addition, 30 new deaths were reported, pushing the death toll to 2,293.

The total recoveries increased by 2,643 to 108,687 in the last 24 hours, while 440 patients are in intensive care units.

Mexico

Mexico reported 4,863 new covid-19 cases, bringing the total to 757,953, according to Health Ministry data. The number of cases rose 0.6 percent, in line with the 7-day average.

Another 388 people died, bringing total deaths to 78,880.

France

France reported a record increase in new cases, rising to 16,972 on Saturday. The seven-day average of new infections, which smooths out reporting spikes, stood at about 11,300, growing for the first day in six.

France reported 43 additional deaths, taking the total to 32,198. The government is expected to announce by Monday whether it will move ahead with stricter Covid-19 measures in various cities. Paris faces the possibility of having to shut down its bars and restaurants again.

Italy

Italy’s cases kept surging, with new infections reaching 2,844 on Saturday, the highest since late April. This compares with a previous seven-day average of 1,954.

That is well below the March 21 peak of 6,557 new infections, and Italy’s situation is better than other European countries. But the government is considering making the use of masks outdoor compulsory.

The increase tracks a rise in daily tests, at near record levels of 120,000 for a third day. Intensive care units are not under pressure yet. Patients in ICUs rose by 3 to 297, well below the peak of more than 4,000 in early April.

If numbers continue to rise, the government would seek to avoid a national lockdown, newspaper Il Messaggero reported Saturday.

Portugal

Portugal reported on Saturday the biggest daily increase in the number of confirmed virus cases since April. There were 963 new cases in a day, more than the previous high of 899 recorded on Sept 25, and taking the total to 78,247. The number of hospitalized cases and of patients in intensive care units both fell.

Netherlands

The Netherlands reported its highest daily total, an increase of 3,972, according to the ANP news agency. A lack of sufficient testing capacity is considered the main bottleneck in the Dutch coronavirus policy. However, starting next week, weekly testing capacity will almost double to 400,000, a ministry of health spokesperson told the Algemeen Dagblad.

Chile

Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris on Saturday warned of a spike in cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in both the extreme north and extreme south of the country.

At a press conference, the official said that the greatest increase in new confirmed cases is occurring in the regions of Aysen and Los Rios in the south, and Arica and Tarapaca in the north.

He also commented on the "very curious phenomenon regarding the coronavirus" being observed worldwide.

"The evolution of the pandemic has produced outbreaks in many countries of the world, which also reminds us that there are no clear paths, that we have to make our way, to continue learning and implementing the best actions we can to contain it," he said.

The Ministry of Health reported 1,880 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 468,471.

According to the Department of Statistics and Health Information, in the last 24 hours, 52 more deaths from the disease were reported, bringing the death toll to 12,919.  

Germany 

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 2,279 to 299,237, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.

The reported death toll rose by 2 to 9,529, the tally showed.

Germany plans to start widespread testing of nursing home residents, personnel and visitors on Oct. 15, Spiegel magazine reported, citing the draft of a national test strategy. Similar rules will be applied to hospital, medical practices and dental offices to better protect vulnerable people.

Earlier Germany’s public health authority advised against travel to almost the whole of the Netherlands, as well as Scotland and parts of northern England.

Egypt

Egypt's reported late on Saturday 109 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total cases registered in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic to 103,575, said the health ministry.

In the past 24 hours, 14 patients died from the novel coronavirus, raising the death toll to 5,970, while 131 others completely recovered, increasing the total recoveries to 97,274, the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

Total COVID-19 recoveries in Egypt have currently approached 94 percent of the total confirmed cases in the most populous Arab country.

Egypt announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the viral disease on March 8.

Around mid-June, Egypt saw a peak of COVID-19 daily infections and deaths, which both started to gradually decline in the first week of July.