With 2.7 million infected, almost 750,000 have recovered. According to reports more than 190,000 people have died due to the pandemic,

In the main time, UK scientists have started testing an experimental vaccine. Testing of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine began on healthy volunteers at University of Oxford in Britain, the latest in a cluster of early-stage studies in search of protection against the coronavirus.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says there are "worrying upward trends" in early epidemics in parts of Africa and Central and South America, warning that the "virus will be with us for a long time".

The United Nations is warning global hunger could double as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, putting 265 million people at risk.

The US has highest number of both infections and fatalities, with over 866,000 confirmed cases and over 49,000 COVID-19 deaths.

Up to half of the deaths in Europe occurred in long-term care facilities, according to Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization regional director for Europe.

Kluge announced the tally on Thursday, terming it a "deeply concerning picture."

It's an "unimaginable human tragedy," he said.

Europe has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, having registered more than 110,000 fatalities.

The figure means the continent has accounted for more than 59 percent of global COVID-19 fatalities.