Coronavirus: Global death toll climbs over 10,000

The global death toll from novel coronavirus has soared past 10,000 on Friday, according to the figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.

The virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China last December, has spread to at least 160 countries and regions around the globe, while the tally of confirmed cases exceeded 244,500.

In all, over 86,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered from the disease so far.

China, Italy, Iran, and Spain continue to be the most affected countries.

The Johns Hopkins figures far exceed the official tally compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which are updated daily but only for cases reported by 04.00 p.m. local time (1600GMT) the preceding day.