The number of people worldwide who have become infected with the coronavirus has passed 19 million. This is shown by a count of the AFP news agency based on official sources.
Worldwide, more than 700,000 deaths have been caused by the pandemic. Europe remains the worst affected region with more than 200,000 deaths since the virus first emerged in China late last year.
More than half of the infections in Africa take place in South Africa, which has the fifth-highest number of infections in the world, after the US, Brazil, India and Russia.
Nevertheless, according to official figures, the African continent remains one of the least affected, with only Oceania recording fewer Covid-19 cases.
As governments around the world struggle to save economies plagued by months of lockdowns, many have been forced to look at new measures to curb outbreaks of the virus since lifting the original containment orders.
In Australia, the second largest city of Melbourne went into a strict lockdown on Thursday, closing nonessential businesses and leaving hundreds of thousands more people at home.
The pandemic killed at least 712,315 people worldwide, with the United States recording the most deaths at nearly 160,000, followed by Brazil with almost 100,000. Globally, 40 percent of all cases are registered in the two countries.
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