The number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world has reached 20 million

August 14, 2020

London — The grim milestone – based on a count by the Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking the development of the pandemic – was reached in the early hours of Tuesday, UK time, with 20,011,186 cases reported.

Experts believe the real figure of worldwide cases is much higher due to testing limitations and the fact that as many as 40% of people infected have no symptoms.

The total number of coronavirus deaths stands at 734,664, according to experts at the American University Johns Hopkins, which has become the main reference for monitoring the disease, Skynews reported.

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, acknowledged that “behind these statistics there is a great deal of pain and suffering”.

The US has suffered the most coronavirus–related deaths with 163,331, while there have been 101,000 in Brazil; 52,000 in Mexico; 46,611 in the UK; and more than 44,000 in India.