The number of coronavirus cases recorded worldwide has passed 18 million, according to an AFP tally on Sunday.
At least 18,011,763 cases have now been registered as the pandemic's rate of infection continues to accelerate. A million more cases have been detected in just the last four days.
More than half of the world's cases have been recorded in the United States and in Latin America and the Caribbean region, according to the tally.
The United States is the worst-hit country with 4,657,693 cases including 154,793 deaths, followed by Brazil, with 2,733,677 cases and 94,104 deaths.
The third worst-hit country is India, with 1,750,723 cases and 37,364 deaths. Worldwide, there have been 687,941 deaths.
On Saturday, the World Health Organization warned the coronavirus pandemic was likely to be "lengthy" after its emergency committee met to evaluate the crisis six months after sounding the international alarm.
The committee "highlighted the anticipated lengthy duration of this COVID-19 pandemic", the WHO said in a statement, and warned of the risk of "response fatigue" given the socio-economic pressures on countries.
The panel gathered Friday for the fourth time over the coronavirus crisis, half a year on from its January 30 declaration of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the WHO's highest level of alarm.