Global death toll from coronavirus passes 15,000
![This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (yellow)—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient, emerging from the surface of cells (blue/pink) cultured in the lab. Credit: NIAID-RML COVID-19, coronavirus](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2020/8-researchersp.jpg)
Deaths from the coronavirus pandemic have topped 15,000 across the globe, according to an AFP tally compiled at 1100 GMT on Monday from official figures.
A total of 15,189 deaths have been recorded, the majority in Europe with 9,197 fatalities.
Italy is the hardest-hit country with 5,476 deaths, followed by China where the virus first emerged last year with 3,270, and Spain with 2,182.
With a total of 1,395 new deaths reported in the past 24 hours out of 172,238 officially declared cases, Europe is now the continent where the virus is spreading the most rapidly.
© 2020 AFP