A staff member (L) talks with a visitor at the booth of TP-Link during the 2020 IFA fair in Berlin, capital of Germany, Sept. 3, 2020. The technology trade fair IFA kicked off here on Thursday in a scaled-back format due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)

A coronavirus curfew closed doors early on German capital Berlin's legendary nightlife Saturday in a bid to limit surging infections, while in Latin America and the Caribbean the number of cases passed 10 million.

Bars and restaurants closed at 11 pm in Berlin under a partial curfew announced until October 31, with the capital following in the footsteps of financial hub Frankfurt where a curfew had already been imposed, but starting an hour earlier.

With more than 400 new cases daily in Berlin, the 11 pm shutdown also covers all shops except pharmacies and petrol stations in a bid to prevent sales of alcohol late at night. 

"This is not the time to party," said Berlin Mayor Michael Muller in a message addressed to young people, who are driving new infections higher. "We can and we want to prevent another more severe confinement."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had already warned Friday that high-infection areas would be given 10 days to bring down cases or face tougher action, calling big cities the "arena" to keep the pandemic under control.

Police said "several thousand" people marched through Berlin on Saturday in a silent protest against restrictions. Protesters also rallied in Rome, Warsaw and London against mask-wearing requirements and virus curbs.

Governments across the globe are struggling to keep up with a sharp rise in infections and manage growing public frustration over new restrictions as the pandemic enters a second wave.

Since it emerged late in 2019, the virus has killed more than 1 million worldwide, infected nearly 37 million and forced millions more out of work as the pandemic batters the global economy.

Latin America and the Caribbean marked 10 million cases Saturday and with more than 360,000 deaths, the region is the worst hit in terms of fatalities, according to official figures.

Brazil's virus death toll passed 150,000 people on Saturday, according to health ministry figures, although the rate of new coronavirus infections continues to slow in the South American country.

In France, health authorities reported a record 27,000 new infections in a single day Saturday, although numbers in intensive care remained far short of peaks seen in spring.

AFP