The rise in new Covid-19 cases in Europe is far higher than the rise in the US, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The surge in the five worst-affected European nations was nearly 42% higher than the increase in the US in the week from October 6 to 13, according to JHU’s seven-day moving average of new cases.
On October 13, that daily average in the US stood at 49,542. In the five worst-hit European countries — France, the UK, Russia, Spain and the Netherlands — the total daily average of new cases stood at 70,158 on the same day.
The population of the five European countries is 343 million, while the US population is 331 million.
Europe is in the midst of a second wave of Covid-19 which has spread rapidly across the continent.
Poland, Belgium and the Czech Republic have all seen sharp increases in Covid-19 infections in recent weeks. Poland reported 8,099 new cases on Thursday — a 24% increase on the previous day’s tally, itself a record.
France and the Netherlands have also seen dramatic increases in the numbers of new cases this month.
But the US situation remains critical. The country’s moving average of cases has begun trending upward again after falling from a peak of well over 70,000 in July.
The JHU data also shows a rapid decline in new cases registered in India, and a notable if less dramatic fall in Brazil.