An employee wearing PPE including a mask works behind the counter of a Greggs bakery in London on June 18, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

LONDON  / SAO PAULO / TRIPOLI / SANTIAGO  — Global coronavirus cases exceeded 10 million on Sunday according to a Reuters tally, marking a major milestone in the spread of the respiratory disease that has so far killed almost half a million people in seven months.

The figure is roughly double the number of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually, according to the World Health Organization.

The milestone comes as many hard-hit countries are easing lockdowns while making extensive alterations to work and social life that could last for a year or more until a vaccine is available.

Some countries are experiencing a resurgence in infections, leading authorities to partially reinstate lockdowns, in what experts say could be a recurring pattern in the coming months and into 2021.

North America, Latin America and Europe each account for around 25 percent of cases, while Asia and the Middle East have around 11 percent and 9 percent respectively, according to the Reuters tally, which uses government reports.

There have been more than 497,000 fatalities linked to the disease so far, roughly the same as the number of influenza deaths reported annually.

UK

Britain will ditch a 14-day quarantine period for people arriving from countries it deems to be lower risk for COVID-19 , the government said on Friday.

Official travel advice against all but essential travel outside Britain will also be eased for some countries and regions.

Taken together, these changes will make it easier for Britons to travel abroad for summer holidays.

The relaxations are the latest taken by the government to unwind emergency measures put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19, as ministers look to limit the economic damage caused by the virus.

An expert panel will put nations into three categories: green, amber and red. Passengers arriving from green and amber countries will no longer have to quarantine themselves for 14 days after their arrival.

Another 100 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Friday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 43,514, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Saturday.

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

Brazil

Brazil on Saturday reported at least 1,109 daily deaths of COVID-19, raising its death toll to 57,070.

In the last 24 hours, 38,693 new cases were reported, bringing the national count to 1,313,667, the Brazilian Health Ministry said in its daily report.

The state of Sao Paulo, the most populous in the country, has been the most heavily affected by the disease, with 14,263 deaths and 265,581 cases, followed by Rio de Janeiro, with 9,789 deaths and 108,803 cases.

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South Africa

South Africa on Saturday reported 7,210 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the highest daily surge since the disease broke out in early March.

With the new cases, the total number of confirmed cases in the country has risen to 131,800, the Health Department said in its daily report.

Meanwhile, the country recorded 73 new deaths, bringing the death toll to 2,413, the department said.

Brazil

Brazil, which has the world’s second-most cases, reported a 3 percent increase in new infections and a 2 percent rise in deaths in the past 24 hours. The increase in cases was less than the 3.8 percent reported Friday.

The nation had 38,693 new cases, lifting the national total to 1.31 million, and 1,109 new fatalities, for a total of 57,070.

US

Coronavirus cases in the US increased by 45,450 from the same time Friday, to 2.49 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. It was the biggest percentage jump since May 15. The 1.9 percent increase also was above the average daily rise of 1.5 percent over the past week.

Fatalities rose 0.5 percent to 125,340.

Greece

Greece will require all arriving international travelers to fill in a passenger location form at least 48 hours before check-in, the Civil Aviation Authority said Saturday. The requirement is being introduced ahead of the resumption of inbound flights to all Greek airports starting Wednesday. The measure is in effect until Aug. 31 and is part of efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Authority said.

Ireland

Ireland reported the most new cases since June 13, amid increasing worries about the virus spreading to younger people. 10 of the new cases are people under age 35, the health ministry said in a statement, while a further eight are between 35 and 54.

“This is now a real concern and a worrying trend,” chief medical officer Tony Holohan said. Some recent cases have had “large numbers of close contacts,” he added. Overall, Ireland has 25,437 cases and 1,734 deaths.

Libya

A total of 14 new COVID-19 cases and 29 recoveries have been reported over the last 24 hours, said the National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Sunday.

In a statement earlier Sunday, the center said it received a total of 1,062 suspected samples, of which 1,048 tested negative and 14 positive.

A total of 727 cases have so far been reported in the North African country with 171 recoveries and 18 deaths, the center said

Chile

The Chilean Ministry of Health raised on Saturday the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus to 267,766, with 5,347 deaths.

Of the number of new cases, 3,481 presented symptoms and 426 were asymptomatic, while the situation of the other 499 cases is still unknown.

Italy

The Italian Health Ministry said Saturday that 97 COVID-19 patients are in the ICU, of whom almost half, or 43 patients, are in the northern Lombardy region.

Eight people succumbed to the virus over the past 24 hours (compared to 30 victims on Friday), pushing the overall death toll to 34,716.

Also on Saturday, Italian health officials recorded 175 fresh cases of infection from the novel coronavirus, down from 259 new cases on Friday, and there were 16,836 total active infections across the country.

Of these active cases, 1,260 people were hospitalized with symptoms and 15,479 were quarantined at home because they are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms.

A total of 188,584 patients have recovered, the ministry said.

Spain

Spain is to uphold a ban on cruise liners from docking at its ports to stop the spread of COVID-19, according to a ministerial order published on Saturday.

Cruise liners carrying thousands of passengers regularly stop off at ports in the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Barcelona and Malaga, but were prohibited when Spain went into lockdown on March 14.

With their crowds of often elderly passengers, cruise ships have been especially vulnerable to outbreaks of the virus and have been barred from disembarking in several countries.

Spain’s ban on the vessels will continue until the coronavirus epidemic is brought under control, according to the Official State Gazette, even as the country otherwise reopens to tourists in an effort to revive an industry hammered by the coronavirus lockdown.

Tunisia

Tunisian Ministry of Health reported on Saturday four new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of the infected in the country to 1,168.

According to the ministry statement, a total of 1,025 patients have recovered in Tunisia while 50 deaths were reported.

After three months of closure due to COVID-19 pandemic, Tunisia reopened on Saturday all its air, land and maritime borders to receive Tunisians living abroad as well as tourists.

Egypt

Egypt reported 1,168 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total infections to 63,923, according to Egyptian health ministry.

Egypt registered 88 more fatalities from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 2,708, the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

The total recoveries in the North African country increased to 17,140 after 403 new recoveries were added Saturday, he said.

Morocco

Morocco registered 244 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the tally of infections in the country to 11,877, the Ministry of Health said.

The death toll from the virus stood at 220 as two fatalities were recorded in the last 24 hours, said Hind Ezzine, head of the department of epidemic diseases of the Ministry of Health, at a regular press briefing.

The number of cured patients has increased to 8,723 with 67 new recoveries, she added.

The COVID-19 death rate in Morocco stabilizes at 1.9 percent, with the recovery rate at 73.4 percent, the official noted.

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Algeria

Algeria on Saturday registered 283 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily record since the outbreak of the pandemic in the North African country, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 12,968.

Djamel Foutar, head of the COVID-19 Detection and Follow-up Commission, told a press conference that seven fatalities and 146 recoveries were registered over the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 892 and the recoveries to 9,202.

Ghana

Ghana's novel coronavirus cases accelerated to 16,431 as authorities confirmed 597 more cases on Saturday, according to the latest data posted by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) on its COVID-19 platform.

The data said 502 more infected persons under treatment had recovered, increasing the number of recovered cases to 12,257, while the death toll remained at 103, according to the GHS.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 5,570 after 145 new COVID-19 positive cases were confirmed on Saturday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health, in a statement issued on Saturday, revealed that from a total of 5,552 medical tests that were conducted within the last 24 hours, 145 of them had been tested positive for COVID-19, eventually bringing the total number of cases in the country to 5,570 as of Saturday afternoon.

Peru

The Peruvian Health Ministry reported Saturday 3,625 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national tally to 275,989 with a total of 9,135 deaths.

A total of 10,762 people are still hospitalized, including 1,169 in intensive care units, according to the ministry.