An analysis of the Reuters data showed the rate of new infections picking up globally. It took just 17 days to go from 50 million cases to 60 million, compared with the 21 days it took to go from 40 million to 50 million. Around 580,000 cases have been reported each day over the past week and around half of all cases since the start of the pandemic were reported over the past 70 days.

In Europe, 1 million new cases were recorded over just five days, for a total of more than 16 million cases, including 365,000 deaths.

A test program will begin with British Airways parent IAG SA this year before arriving on Apple Inc. devices in the first quarter of 2021 and Android from April, IATA said. Travelers will be able to share their status with border authorities or present a QR code for scanning.

“We need to have global rules and standards” on measures like rapid testing and vaccination so there can be a “step forward” for the industry, Pieter Elbers, the head of the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, said in a Bloomberg TV interview Tuesday. The health advances “will definitely help to restore confidence in travel.”