The novel coronavirus has killed at least 468,518 people since the outbreak began in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP as of 1100 GMT on Monday.

At least 8,979,750 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 196 countries and territories. Of these, at least 4,200,700 are considered recovered.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Many countries are testing only symptomatic or the most serious cases.

The United States is the worst-hit country with 119,977 deaths from 2,280,969 cases. At least 617,460 people have been declared recovered.

After the US, the countries with the highest death tolls are Brazil with 50,617 deaths from 1,085,038 cases; Britain with 42,632 deaths from 304,331 cases; Italy with 34,634 deaths from 238,499 cases; and France with 29,640 deaths from 196,878 cases.