UK to impose new coronavirus curbs

London: The British government will announce fresh steps on Wednesday to try and stop a coronavirus surge in England, as the World Health Organisation warned that new cases worldwide soared to almost two million last week in a grim new record.

The pandemic is showing no signs of abating — more than 31.2 million infections have been detected globally, with 964,000 deaths — and nations are scrambling to contain new outbreaks.

The World Health Organization said 1,998,897 new Covid-19 cases were registered around the world last week — a six-percent increase over a week earlier. It was “the highest number of reported cases in a single week since the beginning of the epidemic,” the UN health agency said.

However the number of deaths declined by 10 percent over the previous week to 37,700. The ramped-up response in Britain follows warnings that the country could see up to 50,000 cases a day by mid-October, and a month later exceed 200 deaths every day.

Britain also put on hold plans to allow the phased return of fans to sporting venues in England from October 1. France and Spain are battling similar surges. Spain’s health minister on Tuesday called on Madrid residents to limit their movements and social contacts to the “essential”.

Under new rules to come into force on Thursday, English pubs, bars and other hospitality venues will be required to close at 10 pm. Food and drink outlets will also be restricted to table service only. Many nations in Europe were easing restrictions after largely overcoming initial outbreaks, but the resurgence of the virus has forced them to tighten curbs again.

The number of deaths in the United States was closing in on 200,000 on Tuesday, with infections in the world’s worst-hit nation approaching seven million. Overall, the US accounts for four percent of the world’s population and 20 percent of its coronavirus deaths. President Donald Trump has faced intense criticism of his handling of the crisis ahead of the November election.

“Due to Donald Trump’s lies and incompetence in the past six months, (we) have seen one of the gravest losses of American life in history,” his Democratic rival Joe Biden charged on Monday.

“With this crisis, a real crisis, a crisis that required serious presidential leadership, he just wasn’t up to it... And America has paid the worst price of any nation in the world.” In Mexico, where more than 73,000 people have died, many are choosing to stay at home when they fall ill instead of seeking treatment at creaking public hospitals.