The U.S. tallied nearly 6 million cases of the coronavirus Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Four Midwestern states recently reported record one-day increases in new cases: Iowa (about 785), North Dakota (about 375), South Dakota (about 425) and Minnesota (about 1,000), all according to Johns Hopkins data.
Meanwhile Montana and Idaho say their numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are also setting records.
While the Midwest is the newest coronavirus hot spot, the nation as a whole is seeing declines in deaths, hospitalizations, positivity rates and new cases.
The spike of new cases can be traced to large gatherings. In Iowa, the counties that are home to the University of Iowa and Iowa State University are reporting many of the new cases. Both schools are holding some in-person classes. Other infections have been traced to an annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, including 88 cases in South Dakota alone.
While the United States has the most recorded infections in the world, it ranks 10th based on cases per capita, with Brazil, Peru and Chile having higher rates of infection, according to a Reuters tally.
An activist sits among flags placed near the Washington Monument to memorialize the 180,000 people who have died in from the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. Aug. 27, 2020, in Washington.
The United States also has the most deaths in the world at nearly 183,000, but it ranks 11th for deaths per capita, exceeded by Sweden, Brazil, Italy, Chile, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Peru, according to Reuters.
On Tuesday, French children are to return to their classrooms, but the country’s education minister said Sunday that rising coronavirus infections is putting those plans in jeopardy.
France is reporting several thousand new infections every day. With two days to go before classes begin, French doctors are calling for stricter measures, including masks for students as young as 6 and some online schooling.
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper that some classes will remain closed Tuesday, but "as few as possible."
The plan is for French schools to resume classes with masks required all day for everyone 11 and older with some restrictions on movements and gatherings.
Other European countries, such as Denmark, and many school districts in the U.S. are fully revamping the school day, with smaller classes, more teachers, more separation between students and classes and a mix of in-class and online learning.
India reported 78,761 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours on Sunday, the highest single day rise in the world since the pandemic began, while the county is continuing to open its economy.
A health worker takes a nasal swab sample to test for COVID-19 at a state bus station in Ahmedabad, India, Aug. 29, 2020.
It was the fourth consecutive day that India has registered more than 75,000 infections.
India reports about 1,000 COVID-19 deaths a day. So far, more than 63,000 Indians have died from the disease, the fourth highest in the world.
While eight of India’s states contribute nearly 73% of the total infections, the virus is spreading fast in vast rural areas.
With a population of 1.4 billion people, India is the third most infected nation in the world, behind the United States and Brazil, with 3.5 million cases and more than 63,000 deaths, according to official statistics provided by the country’s health ministry.
Johns Hopkins University reports there are more than 25 million COVID-19 cases worldwide. The United States has almost 6 million infections, followed by Brazil with 3.8 million and India with 3.5 million.