Strict measures have been taken in the most populous city in the United States, despite the pharma giant Pfizer raising hopes of a possible eradication of the epidemic by announcing better vaccine results.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said 1,800 New York government schools will return to distance education on Thursday after the city recorded a seven-day average positive rate of 3 percent.
New restrictions are being imposed in US states and cities, including a ban on domestic prisoners, food bans and gatherings as cases escalate across the country.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Europe is the most affected region, accounting for 46% of the world's deaths and 49% of deaths last week.
While the rate of infection in Europe has slowed down, the WHO said on Wednesday that the death rate has increased by 18% compared to the previous week.
The statistics show that the only region where incidents and deaths declined last week was Southeast Asia.
More than 1.3 million people have been killed worldwide since the first outbreak in China at the end of last year, according to a survey by official sources compiled by the AFP news agency. And more than 55 million people have been infected with the virus.
Many European countries are imposing heavy restrictions on daily life in an effort to stem the spread of the virus.
A French government spokesman said authorities were unlikely to end the partial lockdown any time soon, while the Portuguese government was preparing to extend the measures for another two weeks.
In Hungary, an emergency that partially enables lockdown measures has now been extended to February.
In Berlin, police fired water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters, protesting against strict restrictions.
Protesters, who equated Nazi-era sanctions, responded with "shameful words." Shame! "
The protest came a day after clashes with police at a similar demonstration in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, attended by thousands of right-wing supporters.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin sounded the alarm over rising death rates in his country but failed to take drastic action in many European countries.
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