Coronavirus infections near 500,000; Europe's healthcare systems buckle

Spain has converted hotels into makeshift hospitals and turned an ice rink in Madrid into a temporary morgue

Worldwide infections from the new coronavirus were set to top half a million people on Thursday as both Italy and the United States appeared poised to surpass China, where the pandemic began.

Health care systems in Europe and New York buckled under the weight of caring for seriously ill victims as officials desperately searched for enough ventilators to keep them alive.

Faced with the exponential spread of the pandemic, the US Senate passed a USD 2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems. Millions of Americans hoped the measure would give them a lifeline as they