South Africa: Cases of COVID-19 top 500,000

ABUJA, Nigeria

South Africa on Sunday topped 500,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, said the Health Ministry said.

With 11,107 infections over the last 24 hours, the country's virus tally has reached 503,209, landing the country in the fifth spot in terms of COVID-19 infections.

Mexico is behind South Africa, with 434,193 cases.

Meanwhile, another 148 patients lost their lives in South Africa, bringing the virus-linked death toll to 8,153.

As many as 342,461 patients have recovered.

Authorities have so far conducted nearly 4 million tests across the country.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 685,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since it originated in China last December. The US, Brazil, India, and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries in the world.

Over 17.8 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries exceeding 10.5 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.