Global coronavirus cases near 5.8 million, death toll rises to  360,412

Around 5.8 million cases of the new coronavirus have been officially declared in the world, more than two-thirds of them in Europe and the United States, according to a tally compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

On Friday, the cases stood at  5,814,885, according to Johns Hopkins University. So far, the virus has killed 360,412 people worldwide. Coronavirus cases, first reported in China in December last year, peaked in mid-March. The virus is currently affecting more than 200 countries around the world.

United States, Spain, Russia, UK, Germany, Brazil, Italy, France are among the worst-hit countries having maximum cases of coronavirus and the numbers are increasing every day.

The US currently leads the world in both confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. The United States of America recorded 1,297 coronavirus deaths on Thursday, bringing its total to 101,573 since the global pandemic began.

It’s important to point out that the actual death toll is believed to be far higher than the tally compiled from government figures.

The number of declared cases in the world has doubled in a month, and more than one million new cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the last 10 days.

The number of diagnosed cases, however, reflects only a fraction of the actual number of infections as many countries test only serious cases or lack testing capacity.

(With inputs from agencies)