US records more than 25,000 coronavirus deaths in July

The US reported about 1.9 million new cases during the month, bringing the number of infections to 4.5 million

A woman wears a face mask while out walking in San Francisco. AP

US coronavirus deaths increased by more than 25,000 in July and cases doubled in 19 states during the month, according to official figures, dealing a crushing blow to hopes of quickly reopening the economy.

The US recorded about 1.9 million new cases in July, bringing the number of infections to 4.5 million, for an increase of 69 per cent. Deaths in July increased by 20 per cent to nearly 154,000.

The biggest increases were in Florida, with more than 310,000 new cases, followed by California and Texas with about 260,000 each. Cases in all three states doubled in June.

Cases also more than doubled in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to the tally.

Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York had the lowest increases, with cases increasing by 8 per cent or less.

The US shattered single-day global records when it reported more than 77,000 new cases on July 16. During July, 33 US states had one-day record increases in cases and 19 set records for their increase in deaths in 24 hours.

After a rapid acceleration in cases, the outbreak appears to be stabilising in Arizona, Florida and Texas. Health officials are now concerned the outbreak has migrated to the Midwest because of summer travel.

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 31: Housing activists gather to protest alleged tenant harassment by a landlord and call for cancellation of rent in the Crown Heights neighborhood on July 31, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York. Since the onset of the coronavirus crisis, millions of Americans have fallen behind on rent payments, leading many to speculate that an eviction crisis and drastic rise in homelessness is inevitable unless drastic action is taken by state and federal lawmakers. Scott Heins/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Guests watch a screening of "Mad Max: Fury Road" to benefit the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project at a rooftop drive-in during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 31, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Cast member Charlize Theron attends a screening of "Mad Max: Fury Road" to benefit the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project at a rooftop drive-in during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 31, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

TOPSHOT - A Zoppe Italian Family Circus clown balances another on his hand as they welcome members of the public during the live drive-in event 'Concerts In Your Car', amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, at the Ventura County Fairgrounds and Event Center, July 31, 2020, in Ventura, California. / AFP / VALERIE MACON

View from a big wheel to the Frauenkirche at the main market in the old town, Friday, July 31, 2020, in Nuremberg, Germany. The Nuremberg city administration and the South German Showmen's Association have developed an alternative because of the public festivals cancelled by the coronavirus - the "Nuremberg Summer Days." The decentralized folk festival takes place throughout the city with small attractions. (Daniel Karmann/dpa via AP)

People look at a man wearing a T-Rex costume on a paddle board during hot weather at Sferracavallo beach, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Palermo, Italy, July 31, 2020. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

A traveller passes a new corona test station at the 'Schoenefeld' airport in Berlin, Germany, July 31, 2020. The first travellers returning from high-risk areas have been tested for the corona virus. (Photo/ Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP)

epa08576788 160 migrants, previously arrived in Lampedusa, on their arrival in Pozzallo, near Ragusa, Italy, 31 July 2020. They’ve all been swabbed for Covid-19. EPA/FRANCESCO RUTA

An Indian Muslim speaks on a mobile phone after the mosque door was closed due to insufficient space on Eid al-Adha in Hyderabad, India, Saturday, Aug.1, 2020. Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, is marked by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

TOPSHOT - A security personnel (L) stops a cyclist on a street in front of the grand mosque, Jamia Masjid, as strict restrictions have been imposed amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice, in Srinagar on August 1, 2020. / AFP / Tauseef MUSTAFA

Staff members wearing protective face masks and shields hold a meeting at the Kabukiza Theatre, where Japan's stately traditional Kabuki theatre will resume on August 1 following a five-month closure due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan July 31, 2020. Picture taken July 31, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Workers wearing protective face masks disinfect seats at the Kabukiza Theatre, where Japan's stately traditional Kabuki theatre will resume on August 1 following a five-month closure due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan July 31, 2020. Picture taken July 31, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Muslims pray outside a mosque due to limitations and restrictions to halt the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus during the Eid al-Adha festival in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat on July 31, 2020. Muslims are celebrating Eid al-Adha (the feast of sacrifice), the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide marking the end of the annual pilgrimage or Hajj to the Saudi holy city of Mecca. / AFP / Madaree TOHLALA

Health workers wearing protective masks walk through a quarantine facility during a media tour of a temporary community treatment facility for Covid-19 patients at the AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) in Hong Kong, China, on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. Hong Kong has been taken off-guard by the sudden jump of infections after managing to contain the spread locally as it tore across the world. Officials are now scrambling to slow what they're calling a third wave, while boosting health-care facilities that are reaching capacity. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg

A medical worker makes preparations at a temporary field hospital set up at Asia World Expo in Hong Kong, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. The new COVID-19 patient holding facility can accommodate up to 500 adult patients in stable conditions. The facility which is located near the Hong Kong International Airport is a big convention and exhibition facility and was previously used as a coronavirus testing center for incoming travelers. It's transformed into a treatment facility so that it helps freeing up hospital beds for the serious patients. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

People walk through a sanitizer tunnel while entering the historical Badshahi Mosque to offer Eid al-Adha prayers, in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. During Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, Muslims slaughter sheep or cattle and distribute portions of the meat to the poor. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A Sri Lankan security guard, left, checks the body temperature of a devotee attending a prayer session to mark Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. The feast is marked by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A clergyman wearing a face mask attends a prayer marking the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Moscow's grand mosque in Russia July 31, 2020. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

The news that more states could be hard hit by the virus comes a day after the US reported that gross domestic product collapsed at a 32.9 per cent annualised rate in the second quarter, the nation's worst economic performance since the Great Depression.

In Europe, fears of a second wave of the pandemic have caused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to postpone planned measures to ease the country’s lockdown as coronavirus cases began to the rise for the first time since May.

The government is scrapping plans to allow venues such as casinos, bowling alleys and skating rinks to open from Saturday. A plan to allow a limited number of fans back into sports stadiums is on hold.

Mr Johnson said the measures will be reviewed after two weeks.

He said a rule requiring face coverings worn in shops and on public transit will be extended to museums, galleries, cinemas and places of worship, warning that he would come down hard on employers who did not make workplaces Covid-secure.

In Italy, which had Europe’s worst early outbreak of the virus, the president called on people to behave responsibly. The right to freedom doesn't mean people have the 'right' to behave in a way that spreads coronavirus and causes others to fall ill, President Sergio Mattarella said on Friday.

"Learning to live with the virus until there is a vaccine does not mean behaving as if the virus has disappeared, " he added.

In South Korea, which has been praised for its effective handling of the pandemic, the elderly leader of a secretive sect at the centre of the country's coronavirus outbreak was arrested on Saturday for allegedly hindering the government's effort to contain the epidemic.

Lee Man-hee, 88, head of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, is accused of giving inaccurate records of church gatherings and false lists of its members to health authorities.

Meanwhile, doctors in the Philippines have called on the government to impose a strict lockdown in the capital Manila to support the struggling health system after the World Health Organisation recorded a record daily rise in coronavirus cases on Friday.