COVID-19: Global death toll nearing 15,000

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic climbed to 14,759 on Monday, as per figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows there have now been 341,365 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease, COVID-19, since the virus emerged in Wuhan, China, last December.

The number of people recovered from the disease is also steadily increasing, with the latest figures bringing the tally to 98,866.

Italy leads the global death count with 5,476 fatalities, followed by China (3,274), Spain (1,813), Iran (1,685), France (676), and the U.S. (471).

China still has the highest number of cases (81,454), followed by Italy (59,138), the U.S. (35,224), Spain (29,909), Germany (24,873), and Iran (21,638).

The COVID-19 outbreak has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Johns Hopkins University data shows the virus has now spread to 167 countries and regions.

While the crisis shows no signs of abating immediately, the slowdown in transmission witnessed in China over recent weeks has been hailed as a positive indicator.

On Monday, China’s National Health Commission said there were no new indigenous cases reported across the country, while there were no new infections in Wuhan city, which was the epicenter of the outbreak, for the fifth consecutive day.