Global cases top 100m as UK mulls stricter rules

LONDON－The world surged past 100 million COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University, with Britons also digesting the news that the virus has killed more than 100,000 in Europe's worst-hit country.

As infection counts quicken, many countries are tightening their borders to keep out new, more transmissible virus strains.

The number of confirmed cases worldwide has increased dramatically in recent months, with more than 500,000 being reported each day on average.

In Britain, a somber Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "It is hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic. The years of life lost, the family gatherings not attended and, for so many relatives, the missed chance even to say goodbye."

Britain became the fifth country in the world to record at least 100,000 virus-related deaths, after the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico, and from by far the smallest population. The US has recorded more than 400,000 deaths, the world's highest total, but its population of about 330 million is about five times that of Britain, with 67 million.

The British government was scheduled on Wednesday to announce plans for limited hotel quarantine for Britons returning from 30 high-risk countries covered by a travel ban, the Times reported on Wednesday.

Johnson has rejected calls by Home Secretary Priti Patel for a temporary closure of borders, the newspaper reported, adding Patel had pushed for a travel ban to stop potentially vaccine-resistant strains of coronavirus being imported.

Neighboring Ireland said on Tuesday it would enact mandatory travel quarantines for the first time, as well as extend its third national lockdown until March 5.

Among other European nations looking to strengthen border controls was Germany, which said it is considering almost completely halting flights into the country.

"The danger from the numerous virus mutations forces us to consider drastic measures," Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told the Bild newspaper.

In South America, Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti on Tuesday night announced a total lockdown of the capital Lima and nine other regions following a significant increase in cases.

Sagasti said the new measures would remain in effect until at least Feb 14. A ban on flights coming from Europe has been extended to include those from Brazil in a bid to curb new, more contagious strains.

Agencies via Xinhua