Washington, June 5 (RHC)-- Worldwide confirmed cases of COVID-19 have topped 6.6 million, with the global infection rate rising faster than ever.  There are now over 100,000 new reported infections daily — likely just a fraction of the true toll. 

Over the past two weeks, twice as many countries have reported a surge in cases compared to countries that have reported a downward pattern.

This comes as Brazil has overtaken Italy as the country with the third-highest COVID-19 death toll.  Brazil’s health minister confirmed more than 1,400 new deaths in a single day Thursday — a record — taking Brazil’s total to over 34,000.

The U.S. has the highest number of confirmed cases by far, and over 108,000 deaths.  Earlier, Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a House committee that many Americans are failing to heed CDC warnings that they should practice social distancing and wear masks in public.