Covid-19: US notches 4 million virus cases, Europe tops 3 million amid fresh outbreaks

WASHINGTON: The coronavirus pandemic hit grim new milestones on Thursday, with cases topping four million in the US and three million in Europe as fresh spikes from Belgium to Tokyo to Melbourne forced new restrictions on citizens.

While EU lawmakers combed through a huge aid package for their economies, the UN called for a basic income for the world’s poorest to help slow the spread of Covid-19, and the Red Cross warned of “massive” new migration caused by the economic devastation. The US, the hardest-hit country by the virus, added one million new cases in just over two weeks, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University. In the previous 24 hours alone, the country notched more than 76,000 new cases.

Having recorded more than 144,000 total fatalities, the US has seen a coronavirus surge, particularly in southern and western states, as Texas, California, Alabama, Idaho and Florida all announced record one-day death tolls. Nevertheless, the rate of new cases is now showing signs of easing off in some of the worst-hit zones.


Meanwhile, the European continent now accounts for a fifth of the world’s more than 15 million cases and remains the hardest hit in terms of deaths, with 206,633 out of 627,307 worldwide.

A ¤750-billion post-coronavirus recovery plan was hammered out at an EU summit this week, where fiscally rigid nations butted heads with hard-hit countries like Spain and Italy that have called for huge aid grants. EU chief Charles Michel said the total stimulus would eventually reach ¤1.8 trillion ($2.2 trillion).