Virus Infections Top 600,000 Globally

We cannot completely prevent spread at this stage, says Merkel; in Africa, curbs trigger violence

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The number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide topped 600,000 on Saturday as new cases stacked up quickly in Europe and the U.S. and officials dug in for a long fight against the pandemic. The latest landmark came only two days after the world passed half a million infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, showing that much work remains to be done to slow the spread of the virus. It showed more than 6,21,000 cases and over 28,600 deaths.

While the U.S. now leads the world in reported infections — with more than 1,05,000 cases — five countries exceed its roughly 1,700 deaths — Italy, Spain, China, Iran and France.