Coronavirus Pandemic: Global cases top 12 million

• Millions placed under lockdown in Australia 
• US adds 55,000 new cases in 24 hours
• India registers record single-day hike of 24,879 infections

Millions of people in Australia's second-biggest city went into lockdown yesterday to battle another coronavirus outbreak, as the number of infections worldwide surged past 12 million.

Caseloads and death tolls have risen relentlessly in many of the world's biggest nations, with three million confirmed cases in the United States alone. The US recorded 55,000 new cases in 24 hours Wednesday, a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed.

India registered a record single-day hike of 24,879 infections, which took the nationwide tally to 767,296 yesterday.

In Melbourne, five million people began a new lockdown just weeks after earlier restrictions ended as Australia battles a Covid-19 resurgence, with residents bracing for the emotional and economic costs.

"The idea of not being able to see people that you love and care for is really distressing, really distressing," said a tearful Melbourne resident, Monica Marshall, whose 91-year-old mother recently entered a care home.

"I hope that people have got the message that they really need to take notice -- it's very disconcerting watching some people on the news where they really don't care."

In Europe, where many nations have successfully suppressed their outbreaks, the French government said it remained on alert for a possible surge in cases too.

Chinese state media has offered a rare glimpse of the lab at the heart of coronavirus conspiracy theories, as it seeks to push back against claims the facility was the source of the global pandemic.

Footage broadcast by state-run CCTV is believed to be the first from within the institute's P4 lab -- for highly-dangerous Class 4 pathogens -- since its inauguration in 2017. However, it offered no new information on the lab's workings.

The global death toll from the virus passed 550,000, while about half of the 12 million reported cases have recovered.

In the Middle East, hard-hit Iran reported a record single-day death toll of 221, taking its total to over 12,300, reports AFP. 

India yesterday registered a record single-day hike of 24,879 coronavirus infections which took the nationwide tally of cases to 7,67,296 today while the death toll climbed to 21,129 with 487 more fatalities, according to the Indian Health Ministry data update.

Despite the rising tolls, Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan yesterday said the country has one of the lowest deaths per million population. The global comparison between the five most-affected countries clearly depicted that India has one of the lowest Covid-19 cases per million (538) and deaths per million (15) compared the global average of 1453 and 68.7 respectively, he said addressing a meeting of Group of Ministers to review the pandemic situation across India.