World Covid-19 cases top 5.5 million, over two-thirds in Europe, US

At least 5,505,307 coronavirus infections including 346,188 deaths have been recorded, notably in Europe, the hardest-hit continent with 2,047,401 cases and 172,824 deaths, and the United States with 1,662,768 cases and 98,223 deaths.

More than 5.5 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 AFP from official sources as of 0740 GMT on Tuesday.

People wearing face masks use their phones while sitting inside a shopping mall amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia. (REUTERS)

At least 5,505,307 infections including 346,188 deaths have been recorded, notably in Europe, the hardest-hit continent with 2,047,401 cases and 172,824 deaths, and the United States with 1,662,768 cases and 98,223 deaths. 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 11 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.