The number of coronavirus infections worldwide has passed 18 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker which currently lists 18,017,556 global cases.
The number of deaths is approaching 700,000, with 688,351 currently confirmed.
The United States, most affected country, is in a new phase of the outbreak, with infections “extraordinarily widespread” in rural areas as well as cities, a White House coronavirus expert said as COVID-19 cases hit 4.68 million with more than 155,000 deaths reported.
India on Monday morning recorded 52,972 new cases of the novel coronavirus, taking the total number to more than 1.8 million. There have been 18,03,695 confirmed cases of the virus in the country now, of which 11,86,203 patients have been discharged.
