The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed 5 million, proving the global spread of the pandemic is far from over.
The milestone was reached as Latin American countries overtook the United States and Europe in reporting record daily increases in infections over the past week. Russia and parts of the Middle East and South Asia have also contributed to the steady climb in overall cases.
As Wednesday gave way to Thursday, government data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed 5,000,038 people have now tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
The number of deaths around the world also climbed to 328,172 by 11 p.m. PST.
Both numbers, but particularly the death toll, are believed to be far higher as testing capacity is scattered and many countries do not include fatalities outside of hospitals.
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Some local governments, including in Russia, have also not counted deaths if they’re attributed to other causes like heart attacks, even if victims are coronavirus patients.
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The virus has now infected more people in six months than the number of severe flu cases in a full year,
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