PARIS: The global death toll from the new coronavirus pandemic topped 8,000 on Wednesday, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
COVID-19 has infected more than 200,000 globally since the beginning of the outbreak in December.
As of 1200 GMT, 8,092 deaths have been recorded, most of them in Europe (3,422) and in Asia (3,384), where the outbreak originated.
With 684 new deaths in the past 24 hours out of a total 78,766 cases, Europe is the continent where the pandemic is spreading the most rapidly.