Global coronavirus cases cross 2 million mark

ANKARA

The number of global coronavirus cases surpassed 2 million on Wednesday, according to a running tally by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data showed the number of deaths reached 128,071, while the number of people who recovered stands at 500,996.

The U.S. remains the country with the most infections -- over 609,600. It also has the highest number of deaths with more than 26,000.

Meanwhile, over 3.12 million coronavirus tests have been conducted so far in the U.S.

Italy has the second-highest death toll with more than 21,000, followed by Spain with over 18,500 deaths.

China, ground zero of the virus, reported a total of 3,346 deaths and over 83,300 cases, but those figures raise a question in and outside China.

Recently, according to the Hopkins data, daily fatalities remain in single digits in China and it recorded the most recoveries from the epidemic with above 78,300.

Overall, the virus has spread to at least 185 countries since it first emerged in China's Wuhan last December.

Despite the rising number of cases, most who contract the virus suffer mild symptoms before making a recovery.