The number of people worldwide who have been infected with the novel coronavirus has topped 70 million, according to data compiled by US researchers.
Almost 1.6 million people worldwide have died as a result of complications with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University posted on Friday.
The true number of cases is likely to be higher, due to the existence of undetected cases.
In the United States, which has the highest number of deaths and cases of any country, almost 300,000 people have died, and more than 15.7 million people have contracted the disease, data shows.
India and Brazil have the second- and third-highest case tallies, recording some 9.8 and 6.8 million cases respectively.
The World Health Organisation expects to make decisions on whether to give emergency use approval to COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca in coming weeks
Australian Associated Press
