WASHINGTON: The United States reported record new coronavirus cases for the third day in a row, as new president-elect Joe Biden vowed to act against the pandemic on “day one” in the world’s worst-hit nation. Global infections have surged past 49 million and Europe has become the new pandemic epicenter in recent weeks with more than 300,000 deaths - nearly a quarter of the global total.

More than 127,000 new infections were reported in the US on Friday, the third straight daily record. As Biden finally emerged as the winner of Tuesday’s US presidential election, he promised he would not waste time in addressing the pandemic. “I want everyone, everyone to know on day one we’re going to put our plan to control this virus into action,” said the Democrat president-elect who won’t take office until January.

Across the Atlantic, Greece became the latest European nation to enter lockdown yesterday with the continent reeling from a second, relentless coronavirus wave. Under the measures, which came into force before daybreak, Greeks can only leave home if they receive authorization to a mobile phone request. Essential shops can stay open, including supermarkets and pharmacies. The capital’s main shopping thoroughfare Ermou Street was quiet. But hairdressers have been allowed to stay open for two more days and they were booked out.

The measures follow the imposition of restrictions in Italy, France, Ireland and Britain, while Switzerland is also being hit hard by the virus. Poland was also imposing fresh measures yesterday, closing most shopping centers. The government in Warsaw is also shutting cinemas, theatres, galleries and other cultural institutions and making hotels available only for business travellers.

Denmark and the US are among six countries that have reported new coronavirus cases linked to mink farms, the World Health Organization said. Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden are the other nations to have discovered SARS-CoV-2 in minks, WHO said in a statement. Denmark has imposed strict measures on the north of the country after warning that a mutation of the virus had jumped from minks to humans and infected 12 people. Copenhagen has warned the mutation could threaten the effectiveness of any future vaccine and has ordered the slaughter of all the estimated 15-17 million minks in the country. Britain yesterday banned entry to all non-resident foreigners coming from Denmark after the mutation linked to mink farms was found in humans. Scientists say virus mutations are common and often harmless, and this one doesn’t cause a more severe illness in humans.

But Danish health authorities have expressed concern this strain, known as “Cluster 5”, is not inhibited by antibodies to the same degree as the normal virus, which they fear could threaten the efficacy of vaccines that are being developed across the globe. Since June 2020, 214 human cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Denmark with SARS-CoV-2 variants associated with farmed minks, including 12 cases with a unique variant, reported on Nov 5.

Germany reported record daily figures yesterday with 23,399 new cases and 130 deaths. Demonstrators, few of whom were wearing facemasks, protested in the eastern German city of Leipzig against the restrictions imposed to rein in the pandemic. Organizers put the turnout at 20,000 while police said some attacked them after being told to disperse.

With populations growing increasingly weary of lockdowns, demonstrators and the police have also clashed in parts of Italy and the Czech Republic in recent weeks. The Italian government announced new measures early yesterday to help businesses and families cope with the latest restrictions, which include a national night curfew and lockdown in four regions.

The latest aid package would total Ä2.5 billion ($3.0 billion), media reported yesterday. In the southern Italian region of Calabria, the top health official has been fired after giving journalists evasive and imprecise answers to questions on the virus. Saverio Cotticelli appeared not even to know that it was his job to prepare an operational plan to fight the pandemic.

The record US infection figures came as Donald Trump, who survived a bout of COVID-19 in October and has been widely criticized over his handling of the crisis, refused to accept the election victory of his Democratic challenger Biden. US cases are fast approaching 10 million, with more than 236,000 deaths, and the pandemic has hammered the world’s biggest economy, leaving millions jobless.

Trump has been a vocal opponent of lockdown measures, citing their impact on the economy and repeatedly clashing with his own government’s experts over coronavirus policy. Unlike Biden, Trump held massive campaign rallies ahead of the Nov 3 vote, insisting the US was “rounding the turn” despite the virus surges. Senior members of his administration have contracted the virus recently with Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows the latest to test positive, media said late Friday.

The pandemic has been cited as one of the factors for the delay in US election results, with state authorities deluged with millions of ballots mailed by citizens not willing to risk infection by voting in person. Governments are also exploring mass testing as a way to curb the pandemic.

In England, Liverpool on Friday began the country’s first city-wide coronavirus testing program. All 500,000 residents will be offered repeat tests, even if asymptomatic, under a pilot scheme that could be rolled out nationwide if successful. Once again the sporting world was also hit, with Spanish giants Real Madrid announcing that two of their star players-Belgian forward Eden Hazard and Brazilian teammate Casemiro-have tested positive for coronavirus.