Covid-19: New fear grips Europe as cases top 30m worldwide

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the globe has surpassed 30 million, according to figures by America’s Johns Hopkins University.

More than 940,000 have died with Covid-19 since the outbreak began in China late last year.

The US, India and Brazil have the most confirmed cases, but there is a renewed spike in infections across Europe.

Many northern hemisphere countries are now bracing for a second wave of the pandemic as winter approaches.

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In the UK, the government is considering taking further England-wide measures including a short period of restrictions to try to slow a second surge of infections.

Outside Europe, Israel brings in a second nationwide lockdown later on Friday – the first nation to do so.

Africa has recorded more than a million confirmed cases, although the true extent of the pandemic in the continent is not known. Testing rates are reported to be low, which could distort official figures.

What is happening in key countries?

A team of infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins University, in the US city of Baltimore, have been documenting the global spread of Covid-19 on its tracking website.

According to their data, the US remains by far the worst-hit country in terms of sheer numbers, with more than 6.6 million confirmed infections, and over 197,000 deaths.

The number of new daily infections has been dropping, though, after a spike in July.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump denied downplaying the seriousness of Covid-19, despite admitting in a recorded interview to having done that.

In India, the number of known infections climbed above five million this week – the second-highest caseload in the world.

When comparing figures from different countries it is important to bear in mind factors such as population size and density. For instance, India has a population of 1.3bn people.

However, the virus appears to be spreading much faster in India than any other country, with daily cases topping 90,000 in recent days. More than 80,000 people have died, amid reports of shortages of intensive care beds and oxygen supplies.

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Brazil has had more than 4.4 million confirmed cases, with more than 134,000 fatalities – the second-highest death toll after the US.