The COVID-19 pandemic is surging across the United States, surpassing China and Italy in confirmed cases. Experts warn of a potential second wave in China as restrictions ease and daily life resumes.
Johns Hopkins University's real-time tracker shows the U.S. now leading globally with more than 85,500 cases and nearly 1,300 deaths. The country reported over 30,000 new cases in just 24 hours.
As Le Monde reports, New York is the epicenter, with 281 deaths. Louisiana faces a dire situation following the Mardi Gras carnival in New Orleans on February 25, 2020, attended by hundreds of thousands.
The Globe and Mail raises alarms as China returns to normalcy, with crowded Beijing restaurants, rising road traffic, and packed metros signaling vulnerability across the nation.
"Because most of China didn't really have a significant number of infections during the first wave, the population remains very vulnerable... Sooner or later, a second wave is inevitable. Totally unavoidable," warns Benjamin Cowling, epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong.
Cowling highlights "silent spread" driven by asymptomatic carriers, detectable only after outbreaks emerge, potentially overwhelming initial containment efforts.
Global figures exceed 530,000 cases and 24,000 deaths. Italy ranks third in cases (80,589) but first in fatalities (8,215), followed by Spain (57,786 / 4,365), Germany (43,938 / 267), and France (29,566 / 1,696). Iran (29,406 / 2,234), the UK (11,812 / 578), and Switzerland (11,811 / 192) follow.
Africa sees rising cases across most nations, including South Africa (927 cases) under lockdown. Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo has similar measures. Over three billion people remain in confinement.
