The number of people killed by the new coronavirus in Europe has surpassed 150,000, most of them in Britain, Italy, Spain and France, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources at 0910 GMT Thursday.
With a total of 150,138 deaths out of 1,640,799 cases, Europe is the continent hardest hit by the virus which has claimed the lives of 263,573 people around the world.
Britain has registered the most deaths in Europe at 30,076 along with Italy at 29,684, followed by Spain (26,070 fatalities) and France (25,809).
Worldwide, more than 3,766,180 cases were registered in 195 countries and territories. Of these, at least 1,179,700 are now considered recovered.
The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.
Many countries are testing only the most serious cases.
The United States has the highest number of total deaths with 73,431 out of 1,228,609 cases. At least 189,910 have been declared recovered.
Europe's epicentre
Britain now has the second highest toll with 30,076 deaths from 201,101 cases. On Tuesday, figures compiled by British regional health agencies put the number of fatalities at over 32,000. But these include cases where COVID-19 is only suspected to be the cause, in addition to people who tested positive.
Italy, at one time the epicentre in Europe, has registered 29,684 deaths and 214,457 cases, Spain 26,070 fatalities and 221,447 infections and France 25,809 deaths and 174,191 cases.
China -- excluding Hong Kong and Macau -- has to date declared 4,633 deaths and 82,885 cases. It has 77,957 recovered cases.
(with AFP)
