Driven by the untrammeled rise of new COVID-19 cases in the United States, the pandemic on Saturday posted its highest number of daily cases ever.

This toll stood at 212,326 cases in a 24-hour period, according to a report from the World Health Organization (WHO). The previous WHO record for new cases in a 24-hour period was 189,077 on June 28.

WHO also reported that total cases worldwide during the pandemic had reached 10.9 million.

The United States is reeling from a massive spike in cases since Memorial Day on May 25, when most states unwisely decided to ease social-distancing restrictions protecting their citizens. WHO said the U.S. was hit with 53,213 cases reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the country's total number of cases to 2.72 million, or 25% of the world's total.

As of Saturday, WHO reported 128,481 deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19. More than 620 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

Confirmed cases keep climbing in the U.S. with Saturday being the fourth straight day where total cases exceeded 50,000 per day. On the other hand, COVID-19 seems to be killing fewer people than it infects. Medical experts said this outcome might be due to testing, treatment and "a shift in whom the virus is infecting." They do, however, expect the death toll in the U.S. to rise since the death tally is a lagging indicator.

Brazil is also contributing heavily to the acceleration in the number of daily cases. Its confirmed cases now stand at 1.5 million, with 48,105 new cases in the last 24 hours. Brazil mourns 61,884 deaths, of which 1,252 came in the last 24 hours.

WHO counted at least 523,000 deaths around the world since the pandemic began in January. Of total deaths, 5,134 were recorded over the last 24 hours. Deaths remained relatively stable at some 5,000 per day.

WHO said the biggest increases in new cases came from North and South America, which reported 129,772 new cases in the last 24 hours. This massive increase brought total COVID-19 cases to nearly 5.58 million in North and South America.

Other key statistics according to WHO sees Southeast Asia with 27,947 new cases. India and Bangladesh reported the biggest increases in the region. Total cases in the region hit 900,000. The Eastern Mediterranean region saw 20,043 new cases. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran remain the hardest hit. Total COVID-19 cases now stand at 1.13 million.

Europe reported 19,694 new cases, with the biggest increase in Russia. This number brought Europe's total case number to 2.75 million. Africa had 12,619 cases, practically all of which came from South Africa. Total cases in Africa come to 342,000. The Western Pacific, including China, had 2,251 new cases. Its total cases now stand at 222,000.