Paris: The worldwide number of officially confirmed fatalities from the novel coronavirus rose to 34,610 on Monday, according to a tally compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT from official sources.
More than two-thirds of the deaths from coronavirus have been recorded in Europe. A total 727,080 declared cases have been registered in 183 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China in December. Of these cases, at least 142,300 are now considered recovered.
The tallies, using data collected by AFP offices from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), likely reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections. Many countries are only testing cases that require hospitalisation. Italy, which recorded its first coronavirus death at the end of February, has 10,779 fatalities, with 97,689 infections and 13,030 people recovered. Spain has recorded 7,340 fatalities, including 812 in the past 24 hours, and 85,195 infections.
China — excluding Hong Kong and Macau — has to date declared 3,304 deaths and 81,470 cases, with 75,448 recoveries. It has recorded 31 new infections and four new deaths since Sunday. The other worst-hit countries are Iran with 2,757 deaths and 41,495 cases, and France with 2,606 deaths and 40,174 cases.
The United States has the highest number of infected people with 143,055 diagnosed cases, 2,514 deaths and 4,865 recoveries. Cases there have soared from 41,511 one week ago. (AFP)