The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 400,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University that health experts say is still an undercount because many who died were not tested for the virus.
The milestone was reached Sunday, a day after the Brazilian government stopped publishing a running total of coronavirus deaths and infections. Critics called the move an extraordinary attempt to hide the true toll of the disease rampaging through Latin America's largest nation.
The US remains the worst-hit country with over 1.92 million infection cases, while the death toll in the country crossed 109,800.
Brazil, which has the largest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Latin America, is the second worst-hit country in terms of number of cases with more than 672,846, followed by Russia with around 467,073 and the UK with over 286,294 cases.
Several European countries are also among the hardest-hit in the world.
China, the ground zero of the virus, has registered 84,186 cases so far, including 79,424 recoveries. The country's death toll stands at 4,638. Barely changing figures continue to raise questions in and outside China.
Overall, the virus has spread to 188 countries since it first emerged last December. Despite the rising number of cases, most who contract the virus suffer mild symptoms before making a recovery.
