COVID-19 vaccination in Oslo, Norway. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Over the past 24 hours, there were 490,000 new infections and 6,800 deaths globally. The Europe recorded over 150,000 new cases, and the US reported more than 100,000 infections. There were 89,000 new infections in Southeast Asia, 54,000 of which were in Indonesia.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has predicted a sharp increase in coronavirus cases, with nearly five times as many new infections by August 1. The expected rise in cases was linked to the highly-transmissible Delta variant, along with the relaxing of measures in European countries.

EU's disease agency said it expected to see 420 cases per 100,000 inhabitants for the week ending on August 1, up from just under 90 last week. By the week after, the number of new cases is expected to rise above 620 per 100,000 inhabitants, it said in a weekly report.

The current continuing deterioration of the epidemiological situation in many countries is expected to continue given the rapid increase in the Delta variant, the ECDC said, adding that hospitalisations and deaths are also expected, although at a slower pace, thanks to the rollout of vaccination campaigns.  

Currently, hospitalisations remain stable in most countries but the number of deaths associated with COVID-19 is expected to exceed 10 per 1 million inhabitants again, compared with 6.8 last week, the agency noted.