The novel coronavirus has killed at least 694,507 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Tuesday.
At least 18,324,580 cases have been registered in 196 countries and territories. Of these, at least 10,707,500 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 symptomatic or the most serious cases.