The world just hit 1 million confirmed coronavirus infections

The new coronavirus has now infected more than 1 million people across the world, a milestone reached just four months after it first surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan. More than 53,000 have died and 211,000 recovered in what has become the biggest global public health crisis of our time.

When the virus was first discovered, doctors likened it to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, the illness that sickened 8,000 people mostly in Asia in 2003. Highly contagious, and appearing with little or no symptoms in some cases, Covid-19 has rapidly eclipsed all recent outbreaks in scale and size. Fewer than 20 countries in the world appear to be free of infection.

With some virus carriers presenting few outward signs of illness, and many countries unable or unwilling to conduct wider testing, the true number of global infections is likely higher -- some say far higher -- than 1 million.

More