Coronavirus infections accelerate in US and Canada

The spread of the coronavirus has accelerated in North America and stabilised in Europe.

A weekly roundup from AFP's specialised database:

The pandemic continued to accelerate across the globe with four percent more new cases than last week.

The virus spread fastest in the United States and Canada with a 19 percent increase in new cases. Africa followed with a nine percent increase.

The rate of spread stabilised in Latin America and the Caribbean with no change in the number of new cases. Europe has stabilised at a high infection rate this week with an average of 236,700 per day.

The spread slowed by eight percent in Asia and by 14 percent in the Middle East

The virus has virtually stopped spreading in Oceania with just 19 new cases per day -- two percent more than last week.

South Africa saw the biggest increase in new cases this week with an average of 5,100 per day, a 61 percent jump.

Denmark was next with 2,200 new cases per day, a jump of 58 percent, followed by Lithuania (up 49 percent), Slovakia (up 38 percent), Israel (up 31 percent), Panama (up 30 percent), and the Netherlands (up 27 percent).

The number of confirmed cases only reflects a fraction of the actual number of infections, as different countries have different counting practices and levels of testing.

Argentina saw the biggest drop in new cases daily (-29%, 4,900), then Spain (-25%, 6,300), Austria (-23%, 2,900), Jordan (-22%, 3,100), and Italy (-21%, 17,500).

The US had by far the highest number of new cases this week with an average of 210,100 daily, followed by Brazil with 42,100 and India with 33,200. India however is improving with new cases declining by 13 percent.

Georgia topped the table this week of per capita cases with 785 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, with Lithuania, Serbia, Croatia and Luxembourg coming up behind.

The United States averaged 2,286 deaths per day on average. Italy had 655, Brazil 642, Mexico 593, and Russia 525.