UN: Pandemic appears to be peaking in several big countries

GENEVA (AP) — A record level of new daily COVID-19 cases worldwide could suggest the pandemic is peaking in some large countries, even as the coronavirus has become "well established" in some regions, the World Health Organization's emergencies chief said Monday.

At a media briefing on Monday, Dr. Michael Ryan said “the numbers are quickly rising because the epidemic is developing in a number of populous countries at the same time,” even as it appears to be stabilizing and even reducing in parts of Western Europe.

In its latest Situation Report on COVID-19 late Sunday, WHO reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases by its count — more than 183,000 new cases in a 24-hour period. That was underpinned by over 54,700 new cases in Brazil and more than 36,600 in the United States.

Some countries have attributed their increased caseload to more testing, including India — which counted more than 15,000 new cases over the 24-hour span — and the U.S. But Ryan dismissed that explanation.

“We do not believe this is a testing phenomenon,” he said, noting that many countries have also noted marked increases in hospital admissions and deaths — neither of which can be explained by increased testing.

“There definitely is a shift in that the virus is now very well established,” Ryan said. “The epidemic is now peaking or moving towards a peak in a number of large countries.” The situation was “definitely accelerating” in a number of countries, including in South Asia and the Americas, he said.

He aired new concerns about rising case counts in the Americas, and cited a record jump of over 54,000 new daily cases in Brazil. There, nearly one in three people tested overall have turned up positive — suggesting that the case counts may be...