The five countries with the highest rate of coronavirus infections when measured against population are all in Europe, according to the latest moving averages from Johns Hopkins University analyzed by CNN.
They are the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France.
In all five countries, the number of new infections has increased rapidly since the beginning of October and continues to rise.
- On Oct. 19, the Czech Republic had a rolling daily average (measured across five days) of 10,579 new cases. That means 988 new infections a day per one million population. On Oct. 1, the rate was 238 per million.
- Not far behind was Belgium, which had an average of 891 new infections per million residents on Oct. 19. At the beginning of the month, that average was just 198.
These two countries have by far the highest rate of new Covid-19 infections, but other countries in Europe are seeing steep rises.
The Netherlands’ daily average of new cases at the beginning of October was 2,944; on Oct. 19 it was 8,277. Measured per million of population, that represents an increase from 172 to 483 in less than three weeks.
Johns Hopkins lists the 20 countries most affected by the pandemic and in recent days Switzerland has been added. Its rolling average of new cases on Oct. 19 was 3,618 – more than seven times higher than the number (504) on Oct. 1. That equates to 423 new cases daily per million residents.
Rounding out the most affected countries, France had 381 new cases per million residents on Oct. 19.
The United Kingdom has seen a sharp rise in its rolling average this month, from 9,729 new cases to 19,290 per day – which equates to 284 cases per million.
The picture in Spain is less dramatic but the daily average remains stubbornly high. Despite new measures to restrict movement in the most affected areas, the daily average of new cases has only edged down from 14,690 at the beginning of the month to 13,987 on Oct. 19 – 299 per million.
While infections per million are lower in other European countries, they are still rising.
Italy, which was one of the worst affected countries earlier in the year, is suffering a new spike. Its rolling average of new cases has risen from 2,208 at the start of the month to 11,341 this week.
Poland is also among the countries listed by Johns Hopkins – its rolling average has more than quadrupled this month.
More broadly, according to the Johns Hopkins figures, the rolling averages of new cases in India and Brazil continue to fall, while the US is seeing a gradual but persistent rise. Its rolling average has risen from 43,089 at the start of October to 59,387 this week, representing 179 new cases a day per million population.