THE number of coronavirus cases recorded around the world has passed 100 million, according to new data from Johns Hopkins University.
The total number of reported cases reached 100,032,461 earlier this evening while at least 2,149,818 people have now died after catching the global virus.
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The grim news came just hours after it was revealed the U.K. had become the first country in Europe to pass 100,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
The United States remains the hardest hit country, recording more than 25 million cases and 420,000 deaths.
India ranks second with more than 10.5 million cases, and Brazil third with almost nine million, according to the worrying official statistics.
Seven of the 10 countries most affected by the virus are in Europe, where the U.K., Russia, and France have each confirmed more than three million COVID-19 cases.
Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Germany are the other European countries in the top ten, each reporting more than two million cases of the virus.
The shocking 100 million milestone comes less than three months after the world hit 50 million cases.
The virus was first officially identified on January 16 last year – more than two weeks after the World Health Organisation noted Chinese reports of an outbreak of a "viral pneumonia" of "unknown origin".
The 100 million stat comes as countries around the world are struggling to adapt to emerging mutations of the virus.
Worryingly, the number of reported infections reflects only a portion of the actual number of cases, as many countries do not have sufficient resources to conduct extensive testing.
Many people are also believed to have contracted the virus without developing any symptoms – so-called asymptomatic cases.
Earlier Boris Johnson said he is "deeply sorry" after the UK passed the tragic milestone of 100,000 deaths and vowed to fight the pandemic with "greater resolve".
The sombre PM addressed the nation flanked by the Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Sir Simon Stephens, the NHS chief exec.
He said the huge death toll "exhausts the thesaurus of misery" and represents "an appalling and tragic loss of life".
The PM announced: "I'm sorry to have to tell you that today the number of deaths recorded from Covid in the UK has surpassed 100,000.
"It's hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic – the years of life lost, the family gatherings not attended, and for so many relatives the missed chance even to say goodbye.
"I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one: fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and the many grandparents who have been taken.
"To all those who grieve, we make this pledge: that when we come through this crisis we will come together as a nation to remember everyone we lost and to honour the selfless heroism of all those on the front line who gave their lives to save others."
The PM said over 6.8 million people have now been vaccinated across the UK.
He added: "When those vaccines have finally freed us from this virus and put us on a path to recovery we will make sure we learn the lessons and reflect and prepare."
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