The World Health Organization (WHO) is pleading for young people, tired of lockdowns and eager to enjoy the northern hemisphere summer, to curb partying to help prevent new outbreaks.
Meanwhile, the global death toll has surpassed 700,000 with the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico leading the rise.
Here are the latest developments from around the world overnight.
Europe
France
France reported 1695 new COVID-19 infections over 24 hours, at 194,029, the highest daily increase since May 30, when they were up by 1828, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.
In a statement, the ministry also said the number of patients in intensive care units in French hospitals for the disease went down by four, at 384, after increasing for two days in a row.
Greece
Greeks must stick to rules aimed at containing the coronavirus more closely than ever, the country's Prime Minister said on Wednesday, warning of new restrictions if a worrying rise in daily cases does not abate.
Greece reported 124 new cases on Wednesday, part of a surge of what appears to be mainly domestic infections.
United Kingdom
Scotland imposed new restrictions on the oil city of Aberdeen, closing pubs and restaurants and ordering visitors to stay away.
Netherlands
Amsterdam on Wednesday began ordering use of face masks in crowded areas such as its 'Red Light' prostitution district, in a drive against the coronavirus that stands in contrast with national policy.
Spain
Spain reported 1772 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, marking the biggest jump since a national lockdown was lifted in June and beating the previous day's record rise.
Americas
United States
Top US infectious disease official Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday that he doesn't think the United States will have to go back into "shutdown mode" in order to contain the spread of COVID-19.
"We can do much better without locking down," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at an event hosted by Harvard University. He said Americans should wear masks, keep physically distanced, shut down bars, wash their hands and favour outdoor activities over indoor ones in order to help stop transmission of the virus.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday reported 4,748,806 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 49,988 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1107 to 156,311.
New York City will put up COVID-19 quarantine checkpoints at key entry points to ensure that incoming travelers from 35 states with outbreaks comply with the state's 14-day quarantine mandate, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday.
Former Vice President Joe Biden will not travel to Wisconsin to accept the Democratic US presidential nomination during the party's national convention this month because of coronavirus concerns, party officials said on Wednesday.
The decision to pull Biden and other speakers from Milwaukee, where Democrats had once planned to hold a multi-day nominating convention in person, ensures the event from August 17-20 will be almost entirely virtual. Biden will accept the nomination and deliver a national address from his home state of Delaware, the Democratic Party said.
Asia
North Korea
North Korea's test results for its first suspected case were inconclusive, though authorities have quarantined over 3635 primary and secondary contacts, a WHO official told Reuters.
Medical developments
Convalescent plasma lowers COVID-19 death risk
Infusions of antibody-rich blood plasma from people who have recovered from the new coronavirus, known as convalescent plasma, can lower the risk of death for hospitalised COVID-19 patients, according to a pooled analysis of data from eight earlier studies of more than 700 hospitalised patients around the world. Researchers found that mortality rates were roughly 13 percent in patients who received convalescent plasma versus about 25 percent for those who did not get the treatment.
Exposure to common colds may impact COVID-19 severity
In patients with COVID-19, the immune system's T cells learn to recognise and target the new coronavirus. But some people who were never infected with the virus nonetheless have T cells that also recognise it. Researchers had suspected that in these individuals, past exposure to other coronaviruses, such as those that cause the common cold, had somehow primed their T cells to recognise and attack this new coronavirus, and new research appears to confirm that.
Severe COVID-19 may be less deadly in children
Children with COVID-19 rarely become critically ill, and when they do, they tend to have better outcomes than adults, based on early data from an ongoing study. The Critical Coronavirus and Kids Epidemiology study involves 65 pediatric intensive care units in 18 countries. In a paper published on Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics, the study team reported on the first 17 children with severe COVID-19 from 10 hospitals in Chile, Colombia, Italy, Spain and the United States. Most required respiratory support, with nearly half needing to be put on ventilators. Symptoms were varied, with fever, cough and gastrointestinal issues common. Overall, one child died, four developed inflammation of the heart and three remain hospitalised.
Reuters / Newshub.
