2nd wave of COVID-19 expected to hit France in November

A second wave of the coronavirus pandemic could hit France in November, a government adviser told local media Wednesday as many countries continue to report record daily rises in COVID-19 case numbers.

France has the seventh-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world, and the government is monitoring the figures closely to see if fresh restrictions or lockdowns are needed. The French National Ministry of Health reported 3,304 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, well below daily highs seen last week, though greater numbers of young adults are testing positive. The number of deaths in France from COVID-19 stands at 30,544 deaths, including 16 in the past 24 hours.

Elsewhere in the world, Gaza health officials reported the first death from COVID-19 since authorities detected community transmission of the coronavirus earlier this week. The Health Ministry said the deceased was a 61-year-old man who had been put on life support and died during his transfer to a special isolation center.

In Asia, India recorded the world's highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases, with 67,151 new infections, the country's health ministry data revealed Wednesday. The fresh cases have taken the national tally past the 3.23 million mark.

India has been recording more than 60,000 new infections per day for the last two weeks, reaching a peak of 69,652 cases on Aug. 19. New reported infections dropped to around 61,000 on Monday and Tuesday, but picked up again in the past 24 hours. The ministry said India’s recovery rate was now around 76% with a fatality rate of 1.84%.

Even though the country of nearly 1.4 billion people has been slowly reopening up to heal the economy, areas identified as most affected by the virus continue to remain under lockdown.