NEW YORK — The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases on Thursday, with the total rising by nearly 339,000 in 24 hours, led by a surge of infections in Europe.

Europe reported nearly 97,000 new cases, the highest total for the region ever recorded by the UN health agency. Global deaths rose by 5,514 to a total of 1.05 million.

The previous WHO record for new daily cases was just above 330,000 on Oct. 2. The UN agency reported a record 21,393 deaths on April 17.

As a region, Europe now is reporting more cases than India, Brazil, or the United States. India reported just above 78,500 new cases, followed by Brazil at nearly 42,000 and the United States with almost 39,000 infections, according to the WHO, whose data lags the daily reports by each country.

While India still leads the world in most new cases reported per day, new infections are down 20 percent from their peak. In the United States, which has the largest total number of cases and deaths in the world, new infections are increasing along with the most hospitalized Covid-19 patents since early September. — SPA