Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 7 million

More than 7.01 million people have been reported infected with the new coronavirus globally and 403,338 have died, a Reuters tally showed.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China last December.

The coronavirus pandemic killed 691 people in the United States over the past 24 hours, the lowest number in a week, figures from Johns Hopkins University showed on Sunday.

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There have been a total of 110,482 deaths in the country and 1,938,842 cases, the Baltimore-based institutions' real-time tracker reported at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Sunday).

Both the number of cases and death toll are by far the highest in the world.

On a per capita basis, however, several European countries -- including France, Italy and Spain -- have a higher death toll.

While the United States was suffering around 3,000 deaths a day in mid-April, that number has declined to around 1,000 deaths and 20,000 new cases a day at present.

Relatives use ropes to lower the body of a person who died of COVID-19 in New Delhi, India. Manish Swarup/AP

But health care professionals worry mass demonstrations against police brutality and racism taking place in cities across the US may lead to a new surge in infections in the coming weeks.

Data from the New Mexico Health Department shows COVID-19 infections among health care workers in the state have spiked as intensive care units remain full and nurses and first responders call for more protective equipment.

The data shows 492 workers were diagnosed in May, marking a 219% increase from the 154 workers who had tested positive for the coronavirus the month before.

Medical workers wearing protective suits prepare to bury a victim of coronavirus in Padang, Indonesia.  Antara Foto/Reuters

India is reopening its restaurants, shopping malls and religious places in most states even as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the country grows.

The Health Ministry reported another 9,983 cases Monday, raising India’s count past 256,000 to fifth most in the world. The 206 fatalities reported Monday were the highest single-day rise and takes the country’s death toll to 7,135.

New Delhi is also reopening its state borders, allowing interstate movement of people and goods.

India already partially restored train services and domestic flights and allowed shops and manufacturing to reopen.

Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta, the city hardest hit by the new coronavirus, has partly reopened after two months of partial lockdown as the world’s fourth most populous nation braces to gradually reopen its economy.

An elderly COVID-19 patient is transferred to an ambulance from a Hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Felipe Dana/AP

The city of 11 million people, with a total of 30 million in its greater metropolitan area, has been under large-scale social restrictions since April 10.

Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan announced that all worship facilities will be allowed to reopen with half their capacity and social distancing measures on Friday, followed by offices, restaurants and grocery stores that begin to resume activities with only 50% of their employees and clients on Monday. The measure also applies to public transportation.

The number of new coronavirus infections in Pakistan continued to spiral upward, as thenation of 220 million people surpassed 100,000 cases as of Sunday with more than 2,000 deaths.

A railway worker checks the body temperature of a woman on her arrival at a railway station in Karachi, Pakistan. AP

The daily infection rate spiked after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan ended and markets were thrown open during the Eid-al Fitr holiday at the end of May. That followed the government refusing to close mosques and deciding to open up the country even as medical professionals pleaded for a stricter lockdown,

Since then the daily infection rates have held fairly steady with just under 5,000 new cases each day. Testing has held steady in recent days at about 22,000 each day, with government officials saying Pakistan aimed to eventually carry out 30,000 tests every day.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has gone on national television to tell Pakistanis the country’s poorest cannot survive a strict lockdown.

The International Monetary fund and the Asian Development Bank have both give Pakistan millions of dollars in bridge loans to ease the economic impact of the pandemic pummeling economies worldwide.

Agencies