Globally, as of 6:18 pm CEST on Wednesday, there have been 14,765,256 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 612,054 deaths, reported to WHO.

An Iranian man walks past street bin, painted with a drawing of a mask in a campaign to spread Members of the Military Firefighter Brigade of Minas Gerais (CBMMG) wearing protective gear, demonstrate the use of an isolation stretcher, or bubble stretcher, to transport patients infected with coronavirus (COVID-19), at Pampulha Airport, in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, on July 22, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

Current status (data as of 5:00 pm BJT, July 23):

Sources: Johns Hopkins University, national public health agencies.

The outbreak has now claimed the lives of at least 143,190 people in the US, the most of any country. The US also leads the world in the number of confirmed infections with 3,970,908, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University as of 3:34 pm BJT on Thursday.

Brazil has confirmed a total number of infections to 2,227,514. The death toll grew to 82,771.

India has confirmed a total number of infections to 1,238,798. The death toll grew to 29,861.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Russia have increased to 787,890 with 12,726 deaths.

It is followed by South Africa with 394,948 infections and 5,940 deaths, Peru with 366,550 infections and 13,767 deaths, Mexico with 362,274 cases and 41,190 deaths and Chile with 334,683 cases and 8,677 deaths.

The UK's confirmed cases have increased to 297,952, with the number of deaths at 45,586, according to the JHU virus tracker.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iran have increased to 281,413 with 14,853 deaths.