Argentina has become the fifth country in the world to record one million confirmed coronavirus cases.

In the past 24 hours, there were 12,982 new infections, pushing the overall number to 1,002,662, the country's health ministry said.

It reported 451 new deaths, bringing the nation's toll to 26,716.

With a population of about 45 million, Argentina is the smallest nation to have passed the one million mark.

It follows the US, India, Brazil and Russia - all of whom have far bigger populations.

Argentina was one of the first countries in South America to close its borders and impose other restrictions.

Despite many measures remaining in place, the outbreak has intensified in the past few months - especially in Buenos Aires province.

In other key developments in the past 24 hours:

Belgium is facing "tsunami" of new infections, officials warn
The Republic of Ireland is to move to highest restrictions from Wednesday
New infections are growing rapidly across the US, experts say, with new hospital admissions also increasing
In Australia, officials are easing tight restrictions in the state of Victoria after more than 100 days of lockdown

More than 40 million cases have been recorded around the world, with over 1.1 million deaths.