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The number of coronavirus infections globally topped seven million on Monday as deaths mounted in Latin America, but New Zealand's declaration of victory against the pandemic offered some hope for the rest of the world.

Europe also continued to emerge from its lockdown, with Pope Francis proclaiming that the worst was over in Italy although he expressed sympathy for Latin America.

"Your presence in the square is a sign that in Italy the acute phase of the epidemic is over," Francis said on Sunday while addressing Catholics in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican for the first time since the COVID-19 crisis began.