Virus deaths top 400,000 as Latin America infections rise

PARIS (HRNW) – The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic passed 400,000 Sunday, with fatalities accelerating in Latin America even as Europe emerges from its virus lockdown with infections there increasingly under control.

Almost seven million infections have been registered since COVID-19 emerged in China late last year, forcing much of the globe into lockdown and pushing the world economy towards its worst downturn since the Great Depression.

However, fears of a second wave of the deadly disease have given way to grave worries over the economy, encouraging European countries to reopen borders and businesses, and countries throughout Asia and Africa to slowly return to normal life.

Pope Francis, addressing Catholics in Saint Peter s Square on Sunday for the first time since the health emergency began, said the worst was over in Italy and expressed sympathy for those in hard-hit Latin American countries.