Coronavirus death toll reaches 500,000 worldwide

Half a million people have now died with coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The grim total was reached on the same day the total number of known infections worldwide passed 10 million.

Five million people have recovered from the disease.

Around once in four of those deaths - more than 125,000 - have been reported in the US where cases continue to grow in states including Mississippi and Florida. The country with the next highest death toll is Brazil, with more than 57,000, or about one in nine of the world's fatalities.

The true death toll from the virus, which first emerged in China late last year, is widely believed to be significantly higher. Experts say that especially early on, many victims died of Covid-19 without being tested for it.

More follows…