COVID-19 death toll in Europe surpasses 21,000

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to ravage Europe, with the death toll in the region climbing to over 21,000 out of more than 360,000 confirmed cases.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of coronavirus cases around the world crossed the 700,000 mark near midnight on Monday, of which, 361,457 cases and 21,496 deaths were registered in Europe, Xinhua news agency reported.

Following Italy and Spain, Germany became the latest European nation with over 50,000 confirmed cases, while Spain saw the highest single-day fatalities in the day.

With 838 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, Spain saw the highest daily COVID-19 death toll on Sunday, according to data from its Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Services.

The figure is six more than the previous figure, bringing the total death tally to 6,528 since the first death in the country was confirmed on March 3.

Meanwhile, the country detected 6,549 new COVID-19 patients, pushing the total number of confirmed cases to 78,797.

Madrid continues to be the worst affected part of the country as the pandemic has claimed 3,082 victims, or 47 percent of all deaths nationwide, and infected 22,677 people in total.

In Italy, the worst-hit European country, local news media noted, a day after its death toll topped 10,000, that around one-third of the worldwide death toll from the pandemic so far has been contained within Italy's borders.

As of Sunday, 10,779 people have died from COVID-19 in the southern European country. That is more than Spain and China, the next two countries suffering the most fatalities, combined.

Meanwhile, the total number of people confirmed to have coronavirus in Italy -- combining active cases, deaths, and recoveries -- climbed to 97,689 Sunday, 5,217 above the level recorded a day earlier.

Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli said the number of new cases was higher than 3,651 a day earlier, but evidence showed that new cases could be plateauing.

With 3,965 new COVID-19 cases, Germany's total number has increased to 52,547, making it the third nation in Europe with over 50,000 cases. Meanwhile, the death toll in the country remained low at 389 as of Sunday.

In Britain, the total number is approaching the 20,000 mark. With 2,433 more cases, the country has confirmed 19,522 cases as of Sunday morning.

Also on Sunday, Belgium and the Netherlands became the latest European countries with over 10,000 cases each, after Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Britain and Switzerland.

With 1,702 new cases in the past 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases in Belgium, a country with some 11 million population, has reached 10,836, while total deaths increased to 431, according to data from the public health institute Sciensano.

In the Netherlands, the total number of cases and deaths has reached 10,866 and 771 respectively. With 132 new deaths, the death toll was the highest single-day figure so far in the country after Friday's 112 and Saturday's 93.-IANS