The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record daily increase in global COVID-19 cases on Friday, with the total rising by 292,527.

The biggest increases were from the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa, according to a daily report. Deaths rose by 6,812. The four countries have dominated global headlines with large outbreaks.

Nearly 40 countries have reported record single-day increases in coronavirus infections over the last week, around double the number that did so the previous week, according to Reuters.

More than 68,000 cases were confirmed in the United States, and over 1,200 people died on Friday. California is the worst attacked region by the coronavirus in the United States, with more than 500,000 confirmed cases and more than 9,000 deaths, according to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In Asia, India recorded the highest ever single-day spike of 57,118 of fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking the total tally to 1,695,988, according to the federal health ministry's latest data.

Vietnam recorded its second coronavirus death as the country battles a new outbreak of COVID-19, which emerged in its city of Danang.

Spain also reported a second day of 1,000-plus coronavirus infections, the highest since the nation eased its lockdown in June.

Cases have been on the rise also in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Bolivia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Uzbekistan and Israel, among others.

Last week, cases in Latin America for the first time surpassed the combined infections in the United States and Canada. Infections are surging in Brazil, which is second in the world behind the United States in cases and deaths, according to Ministry of Health of Brazil

As of Saturday, more than 17.6 million people around the world have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. More than 10 million patients have recovered, and at least 679,000 have died globally, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

(With input from agencies)