The number of coronavirus cases in Europe surpassed the 15 million mark on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, as the region sees a surge in infections with the onset of winter, reporting a million new infections about every four days.
Europe has so far witnessed at least 15,046,656 reported infections and 344,401 reported deaths caused by the novel coronavirus, accounting for a quarter of global infections and deaths reported.
While it took the region nearly nine months to record its first 5 million cases, the next 10 million cases were reported in less than two months, according to a Reuters analysis.
With just one-tenth of the world's population, Europe accounts for 26% of the global case load of 56.9 million and 25% of the 1.3 million deaths worldwide. Of every 100 infections last reported worldwide, about 39 were reported from countries in Europe.
