Global novel coronavirus deaths pass 140,000: study

WASHINGTON

The number of people who have died from the novel coronavirus worldwide now exceeds 140,000, according to data released Thursday from Johns Hopkins University.

In crossing the grim milestone, the university tally found 140,773 fatalities, and nearly 2.1 million infections. In all, over 532,000 people have recovered after contracting COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus.

The virus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, and has since spread to 185 countries and regions, according to Johns Hopkins.

The U.S. remains the country with the highest number of infections with more than 640,000, followed by Spain, Italy and Germany.

The U.S. also continues to have the highest number of fatalities with 31,590 deaths, followed by Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom.