Global cases of the novel coronavirus surpassed 9 million on Monday, as Brazil and India grappled with a surge in infections, and the United States, China, and other hard-hit countries reported new outbreaks, according to a Reuters tally.
The first case was reported in China in early January and it took until mid-May to reach 4.5 million cases. It has taken just five weeks to double to 9 million cases, the tally shows.
The United States leads the world with the highest number of infections, at about 2.2 million or 25% of all reported cases.
The tally shows the disease is spreading fastest in Latin America, which now accounts for 23% of all cases.
Brazil has the second-most cases behind the United States, and India is on track to overtake Russia as the third most affected country by cases.