500,000 deaths

Coronavirus restrictions back in force as new infections climb

MORE than half a million people have died in the coronavirus pandemic, an AFP tally showed on Sunday, as bars in Los Angeles were ordered to close again due to surging cases in the United States.

The worldwide number of recorded infections is now just over 10 million from the virus that first emerged in China late last year, with fears growing of a full-blown second wave.

The rate of contagion has doubled since May 21.

One million new infections were recorded in just six days, according to the AFP count based on official sources, even as countries loosen punishing lockdowns that have devastated their economies and thrown millions out of work.

The US, the hardest-hit country, has more than 2.5 million cases alone, and efforts to reopen its economy have been set back by a jump in new infections in states such as Florida and California.

The disease is also rampaging through Latin America, where Brazil alone has more than 1.3 million cases.

Infections are up in some other parts of the world that have reopened, with Europe registering a caseload of more than 2.6 million, although daily rates have stabilised.

California was the latest state to reimpose restrictions, ordering bars in Los Angeles and six other counties – an area with 13.5 million residents – to close because of the rising number of cases.

The hardest-hit parts of the US are in the south and west, where many state leaders had pushed for early economic reopenings.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis conceded there had been an “explosion” in new cases as the state notched a record 9585 cases in 24 hours.

Several other countries have also imposed new restrictions to counter fresh outbreaks. China imposed a strict lockdown on nearly half a million people in a province surrounding Beijing to contain a fresh cluster.