COVID-19: Global infections reach 5m, as China confirms 2 new infections, 31 new asymptomatic cases

Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University has revealed that more than five million people around the world have now been confirmed to be infected with the new COVID-19 disease.

The figures by the American university also show that more than 328,000 people have died globally of the deadly disease while nearly 1.9 million people have recovered from the virus.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s infection rate worsened on Wednesday as the Health Ministry reported 888 new deaths and nearly 20,000 new infections in a single day, pushing the total cases to 291,579 and almost 19,000 deaths.

In a related development, China’s health commission reported on Thursday two new coronavirus cases as of the end of Wednesday, including one imported case.

The health agency also reported 31 new asymptomatic cases in the mainland, slightly up from 16 the previous day.