Globally, over 2.75 lakh new COVID-19 cases were registered on Thursday, according to the worldometers data published on Friday. The uptick in infections have forced several countries over the past few weeks to backtrack on their decision to ease lockdown and re-impose curbs to stem the spread of novel Coronavirus. More nations continue to join the list, including South Africa where President Cyril Ramaphosa has again announced the closure of schools for a month even as the nation's cases reached 4,08,052 and around 6,000 people have died.

The government had to balance the concerns over health and welfare of educators and learners with the impact that closing of schools would have on the future of an entire generation, he said. Schools will be closed again till August 24, for students of all but two classes. In Belgium, which has 64,847 cases and 9,812 deaths, the government announced that it was not easing the lockdown as of now and bringing in new restrictions as the daily infection rate hits a new high since May, reported the Guardian.