The World Health Organization declared Latin America "a new epicenter" of the coronavirus pandemic Friday as US President Donald Trump demanded churches reopen despite the ongoing Covid-19 threat.

China meanwhile warned that its economy will suffer an immense hit from the coronavirus and Beijing's communist rulers for the first time in decades decided not to declare a target for growth, underscoring the setback from the pandemic.

Surges in infections across much of Central and South America continued to drive the global toll higher even as hard-hit nations in Europe, along with the United States, sought to move into a cautious recovery phase with new infections dipping.

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