Hong Kong is in “all-out combat” to contain a surge in coronavirus cases, the city’s number two official said on February 20, with the ramping up of community isolation and treatment units helped by mainland Chinese construction teams.

A senior Chinese epidemiologist said the United States should be the priority in the next phase of investigations into the origin of Covid-19 after a study showed the disease could have been circulating there as early as December 2019, state media said on June 17.

A World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on March 15 that the past week saw an 11% increase in Covid-19 cases worldwide, raising concerns that measures to halt the pandemic’s spread may be breaking down just as vaccine distribution picks up.

U.S. deaths from the coronavirus will reach 410,000 by the end of 2020 and deaths could soar to 3,000 per day in December, the University of Washington’s health institute forecast.