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For months, one enduring mystery of the coronavirus was why some of the world’s most populous countries, with rickety health systems and crowded slums, had managed to avoid the brunt of an outbreak that was burning through relatively affluent societies in Europe and the United States. Now some of those countries are tumbling into the maw of the pandemic, and they are grappling with the likelihood that their troubles are only beginning. Globally, known cases of the virus are growing faster than ever with more than 100,000 new ones a day. (Walsh, 6/4)

Global COVID-19 cases topped 6.5 million today, fueled by brisk activity in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Peru, and in hot spots in other parts of the world, such as India and Iran, a country that is experiencing a second spike in infections. The global total today rose to 6,588,761 cases, and deaths reached 388,416, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard. (Schnirring, 6/4)

Packed street markets. Buzzing metro stations. Thronged sidewalks. And noticeably fewer people wearing masks. Mexico is starting to bustle again as the country gradually reopens after a quarantine that hammered its economy. But many Mexicans, including medical experts, are worried the move has come too early, and will lead to more illness and death under a pandemic that has not been brought under control in Mexico and is surging across Latin America. (McDonald, 6/5)

Four weeks ago, with its most important festival coming up and millions of people facing starvation as economic activity dwindled, Pakistan lifted a two-month-long coronavirus lockdown. (Greenfield and Farooq, 6/5)

South Korea’s economy has proved to be one of the most resilient in the world in the face of the coronavirus. But economists say that will be difficult to sustain. Dependent on exports—led by the likes of Samsung Electronics Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and LG Corp. —the economy is feeling the pain of the global spending slowdown caused by the pandemic. South Korea’s exports in May were down 24% from a year earlier, about matching April’s 25% drop. (Jeong, 6/4)

Think about Hannibal Lecter, the psychopathic cannibal in the “Silence of The Lambs.” Or Jason Voorhees, the hockey mask-wearing murderer in the “Friday the 13th” slasher film series. Before the coronavirus outbreak abruptly disrupted the livelihoods of millions of people, the sight of masks worn in public spaces in the Western world conjured up images of malevolent clowns and terrifying fictional villains. (Petrequin, 6/5)

Japan has kept its deaths from the new coronavirus low despite a series of missteps that beg the question of whether it can prevent future waves of infections. Authorities were criticized for bungling a cruise ship quarantine and were slow to close Japan’s borders. They have conducted only a fraction of the tests needed to find and isolate patients and let businesses operate almost as usual, even under a pandemic state of emergency. (Yamacuchi, 6/5)