A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 34,000 people across the globe.
The new respiratory virus, which causes an illness known officially as COVID-19, has rapidly spread to every continent except Antartica since first emerging in China back in December. There are now more than 723,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, spanning across 177 countries and regions, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. At least 152,000 of those patients have recovered from the disease.
With more than 143,000 diagnosed COVID-19 cases, the United States has by far the highest national tally in the world, followed by Italy, China and Spain. The virus has spread to every U.S. state as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. At least 2,513 people have died in the United States, according to the latest count by Johns Hopkins University.
