A patient (center) is transferred to a medicalised hotel during the COVID-19 outbreak in Madrid, Spain. AP

More than 160,000 people have died from the new coronavirus around the world, almost two thirds of them in Europe, according to an AFP tally at 0940 GMT Sunday based on official sources.

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Europe coronavirus toll tops 100,000

Spain health ministry says coronavirus death toll slows 

A total of 160,502 fatalities have been registered out of 2,331,318 cases. These include 101,398 deaths and 1,151,820 infections in Europe, the continent hardest hit by the virus.

The United States is the country with the most reported deaths at 39,090, followed by Italy with 23,227, Spain 20,453, France 19,323 and Britain 15,464.

Medical staff-members transport an Italian patient upon arrival in Bonn, Germany from Bergamo, Italy. AFP

Spain registered Sunday a sharp drop in the daily death toll from coronavirus, with the number falling to 410 from 565.

The total fatalities in Spain, the third hardest-hit country in the world after the US and Italy, have reached 20,453, the health ministry said. Infections rose to 195,344, with 4,218 new cases in the past 24 hours.

A member of the Military Emergencies Unit sprays a crucifix as they carry out a general disinfection in Barcelona. AFP

Iran's death toll from the new coronavirus has risen by 87 to 5,118, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a statement on state TV on Sunday.

The total number of infected cases in Iran, the Middle Eastern country hardest hit by the outbreak, has reached 82,211, he said.

An elderly COVID-19 patient is transferred to an ambulance from a Hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Felipe Dana/AP

India's Maharashtra state, the country's largest regional economy, will allow a limited number of sectors to resume business on Monday, after a weeks-long shutdown to slow the spread of coronavirus left millions out of work.

Maharashtra, home to financial centre Mumbai, has the biggest share of India's caseload of 15,713 infections, including a large number now ripping through its densely-packed slums.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray told a news conference on Sunday that some activity would be permitted in the least-affected parts of the state while observing a strict lockdown in the red zones that have the maximum number of cases.

Agencies