Health News Roundup: Reopenings stall as U.S. records nearly 50,000 cases of COVID-19 in single day; WHO warns some nations still face 'long, hard' battle with COVID-19 and more

New cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, shot up by nearly 50,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, marking the biggest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Reopenings stall as U.S. records nearly 50,000 cases of COVID-19 in single day

Governors of U.S. states hit hardest by the resurgent coronavirus halted or reversed steps to reopen their economies on Wednesday, led by California, the nation's most populous state and a new epicenter of the pandemic. New cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, shot up by nearly 50,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, marking the biggest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic.

WHO warns some nations still face 'long, hard' battle with COVID-19

Nations who fail to use every mechanism available to combat the still-raging novel coronavirus will struggle to beat it, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. "Some countries ... have taken a fragmented approach. These countries face a long, hard road ahead," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from WHO headquarters in Geneva, without singling out any nations.

Japanese capital sees more than 100 more coronavirus cases: NHK

Tokyo confirmed more than 100 more novel coronavirus infections on Thursday, public broadcaster NHK said, the highest daily tally in two months in the city at the center of Japan's outbreak. The jump comes after the city of 14 million sought to hold new daily cases at fewer than 20 since the government lifted a state of emergency on May 25, only to see its tally consistently exceed 50 over the past week.

Australia sets up suburban checkpoints to contain Melbourne virus hotspots

Australian police set up suburban checkpoints in new coronavirus hotspots in Melbourne on Thursday as authorities struggled to contain new outbreaks in the country's second-largest city, even as travel restrictions eased elsewhere. Images published by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Thursday showed police flagging down cars in suburban streets after 36 suburbs in Melbourne in Victoria state went into lockdown following a spike in new infections there. The state reported 77 new cases on Thursday, up slightly from the previous day and in line with two weeks of double-digit daily increases.

India's tally of coronavirus infections crosses 600,000

India's coronavirus infections surpassed 600,000 on Thursday, with 17,834 deaths, as authorities battled to contain the pandemic while easing lockdown rules, officials and the health ministry said. The increase presents a severe challenge for India's strained medical capacity and overburdened health system.

World takes stock of COVID-19 drug remdesivir after U.S. snaps up supplies

Some governments in Europe and Asia said on Wednesday they have enough of Gilead's COVID-19 anti-viral remdesivir for now despite fears of shortages since the U.S. drugmaker pledged most output to its home market for the next three months. The pharmaceutical company's move stirred the global debate about equitable access to drugs and brought concerns about accessibility, especially in regions where coronavirus rates are still high or there have been new outbreaks.

Thailand reports six new coronavirus cases imported from abroad

Thailand on Thursday reported six new coronavirus cases, all of which were imported from abroad, marking 38 successive days without any domestic transmission.The new cases were four Thai nationals returning from Indonesia, one from South Africa and one from Sudan, said Panprapa Yongtrakul, a spokeswoman for the government's COVID-19 Administration Centre. All were detected in state quarantine. The coronavirus has killed 58 people in Thailand, among 3,179 infections, of which 3,059 patients have recovered.

BioNTech and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine shows potential in human trial

A COVID-19 vaccine developed by German biotech firm BioNTech and U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has shown potential and was found to be well tolerated in early-stage human trials, the companies said on Wednesday. The drug is one of 17 being tested on humans in a frantic global race to find a vaccine the world is counting on to end a pandemic that has infected 10.5 million people and killed more than half a million so far.

Brazil military hand out masks to protect isolated Amazon tribes

Soldiers handed out masks to barefooted Yanomami indigenous people including body-painted warriors carrying spears and bows and arrows on Wednesday on the second day of a military operation to protect isolated tribes from COVID-19. The Yanomami are the last major isolated people in the Amazon rainforest where dozens of indigenous communities have been infected with the latest disease to come from the outside to threaten their existence.

U.S. coronavirus cases rise by nearly 50,000 in biggest one-day spike of pandemic

New U.S. COVID-19 cases rose by nearly 50,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, marking the biggest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic. The record follows a warning by the government's top infectious diseases expert that the number could soon double to 100,000 cases a day if Americans do not come together to take steps necessary to halt the virus's resurgent spread, such as wearing masks when unable to practice social distancing.

(With inputs from agencies.)