Coronavirus cases around the world jumped another million in yet another four-day period, surpassing 18 million cases Monday morning.
According to public health data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, there were 18,102,671 confirmed COVID-19 infections as of approximately 8:30 a.m. ET.
The death toll attributed to the virus globally has reached 689,908 people, according to the university’s tally. More than 10.7 million people have recovered from COVID-19.
The new total comes after the global COVID-19 case count hit 17 million late on July 29 and as some large countries grapple with a surge in cases.
The United States continues to have the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, with over 4.6 million cases as of early Monday, according to the Johns Hopkins tally. The virus has claimed the lives of more than 154,860 people in the U.S.
Brazil has the second-highest COVID-19 case count, with more than 2.7 million cases, followed by India, which has over 1.8 million cases.
South Africa surpassed 500,000 cases late Saturday, placing it as the country with the fifth-highest number in the world, behind Russia.
According to experts, the true toll of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide is much higher than the confirmed case count for several reasons, including limited testing.
-With files from The Associated Press