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Global infections from the novel coronavirus surpassed five million on Thursday as the pandemic played out unevenly across the planet, AFP reported.

The grim milestone is still only a fraction of the true number of infections from a virus that has claimed more than 328,000 lives in its whirl around the globe, according to AFP tally of official sources.

And while many hard-hit European countries have significantly curbed the rise of cases, Latin America has been in the grip of an infection surge.

Brazil is leading the pack, logging the third-highest number of cases in the world after the US and Russia. Peru, Mexico and Chile have also seen steady increases in infections.

While daily death tolls are no longer on a steady rise, the losses are still punishing with more than 1,500 additional fatalities reported in 24 hours on Wednesday, bringing to the total number in the US to more than 93,400.