Global coronavirus deaths cross 50,000

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 50,000 people worldwide with nearly three-quarters of the deaths in Europe, according to an AFP tally on Thursday using official figures.

A total of 51,364 deaths have been recorded across the world, including 37,709 in Europe, with Italy registering 13,915, followed by Spain with 10,003, France with 5,387 and the United States with 5,316.

Since the virus emerged in China in December, 989,281 global infections have been confirmed, more than half of them in Europe, which has 542,077.

The United States and Canada have 235,900 cases and 5,427 deaths and Asia has 112,061 cases with 3,998 deaths.