The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has passed 50 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, which showed that the US, India and Brazil have the highest figures.
A total of 50,052,204 infections had been reported around the world by Sunday evening.
The US has the highest number of infections, with 9,879,323, followed by India with 8,507,754 and Brazil, which has reported 5,653,561. Russia has registered the fourth highest number of cases (1,760,420) while France’s total stands at 1,709,773.
The new total came as a Reuters tally calculated that October was the worst month of the coronavirus pandemic so far, with its second wave in the past 30 days accounting for a quarter of all cases.
The last month saw the spread of the virus accelerate at a rapid pace: while it took 32 days for cases to rise from 30 million to 40 million, it only took 21 days to add another 10 million.
The bleak milestone followed the US reporting more than 100,000 new cases on four consecutive days. The country broke its own record for daily cases nearly every day last week.
Europe has also greatly contributed to the global surge in cases. The region has reported around 12 million infections, making it the worst-affected region, overtaking Latin America. It also makes up almost a quarter (24%) of coronavirus deaths.
A Reuters analysis has shown the number of new coronavirus cases in Europe is growing by around one million every three days.
The second wave has recently led to governments across Europe tightening restrictions and imposing new lockdowns, with shutdowns ordered in England, France, Germany and Greece.
The global death toll stands at more than 1,250,000, according to Johns Hopkins. The US, Brazil and India have recorded the most fatalities, followed by Mexico and the UK.
