Global coronavirus infections passed 14 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, marking the first time there has been a surge of a million cases in under 100 hours.

The first case was reported in China in early January and it took three months to reach 1 million cases. It has taken just four days to climb to 14 million Covid-19 cases from 13 million recorded on July 13.

The number of cases globally is around triple that of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The pandemic has now killed at least 600,000 people in almost seven months, edging towards the upper range of yearly influenza deaths reported worldwide. The first death was reported on January 10 in Wuhan, China before infections and fatalities then surged in Europe and later in the US.

In China, Xinjiang reported 16 new domestically transmitted cases for Friday, health authorities said on Saturday as the country readies to battle a new front against the outbreak in the remote northwestern region.

The jump in cases followed one new case, and eight more asymptomatic ones. All the cases have been reported from the regional capital Urumqi, and at least 269 people in the city have been put under medical observation.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is moving to cancel the next two-week sitting of parliament because of the recent spread of the virus.

Parliament has been scheduled to meet on August 4-13 and then sit again for a two-week session starting August 24.

Morrison said on Saturday that he has written to the parliamentary speaker asking for a cancellation, but the request is considered only a formality.

Saudi hosts G20 talks on recovery, debt

G20 finance ministers and central bankers held talks on Saturday aimed at spurring global economic recovery from a recession amid calls to widen debt relief for crisis-hit poor countries.

The virtual talks, hosted by Saudi Arabia, come as the surging pandemic continues to batter the global economy and campaigners warn of a looming debt crisis across poverty-wracked developing nations.

The ministers and bankers seek to “discuss the global economic outlook and coordinate collective action for a robust economic recovery,” G20 organisers in Riyadh said in a statement.

(With inputs from Agencies)