According to the latest data, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the globe exceeded 40 million on Monday morning, although far more individuals are thought to have been infected.
40,076,184 confirmed cases of the virus have been recorded by Johns Hopkins University, which collects COVID-19 reports from around the world.
However, the actual worldwide number is believed to be much higher as testing has been variable, many have been asymptomatic and the actual number of cases has been concealed by some governments.
Over 1.1 million confirmed virus deaths have been reported worldwide, although experts also think that number is an undercount.
The United States, India, and Brazil report the highest numbers of cases of coronavirus by far: 8.1 million, 7.5 million, and 5.2 million, respectively.
But a surge in Europe, which has seen over 240,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, is driving the recent global increase.
According to the World Health Organization, Europe also reported a record weekly high of nearly 700,000 new cases last week, saying the region was responsible for about a third of global cases.
Approximately half of all new COVID-19 cases in the region are in the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and Spain, and countries like Belgium and the Czech Republic are battling more severe outbreaks than they faced earlier this year.
The World Health Organization has warned that if governments and citizens do not adhere to mitigation measures, intensive care units in several European cities might soon be overwhelmed.
New mask-wearing requirements have been initiated by Italy and Switzerland, schools in Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic have been closed, and restaurants and bars in Belgium and France have been closed.
A 9 p.m. was implemented by France In parts of the UK, a curfew and limited lockdowns are in place.
A previous WHO estimate calculated that COVID-19 had been contracted by about 1 in 10 of the world population, about 780 million people in total. That's almost 20 times the official number of cases reported at present.
