Newly Rising COVID-19 Cases Cause Concerns In Parts of the World

Experts hope vaccinations can curb virus surges, as U.S. vows to help countries needing vaccines.

The rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths continue to plummet in U.S. And worldwide, cases are down 15%. But the virus is picking up again in some global regions, raising concerns that the pandemic isn't ending any time soon. While new infections in the U.K. remain far lower than the worst days of the pandemic, the numbers are spiking again. Health officials blame a fast-spreading virus variant first detected in India. Some 100,000 people tested positive in the U.K. in the last week of May. That was a two-thirds increase over the previous week. The variant discovered in India has now been reported in 62 countries. Another virus mutation, first detected in Japan, has spread to 64.