Global virus infections top 10 million

Global infections from the novel coronavirus have surpassed 10 million as the rate of new cases surges, according to an AFP tally on Sunday.

One million new cases were recorded in only six days, according to the AFP count, just as countries start to unwind punishing lockdowns that have devastated their economies and thrown millions out of work. The worldwide death toll from the disease that first emerged in China about six months ago is also nearing 500,000 as fears grow of a full-blown second wave.

The US, the hardest hit country, has surpassed 2.5 million cases alone.