Picture shown is for illustrative purposes only.

Europe has recorded more than 2.5 million coronavirus deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic, with more than half the total accounted for by Russia, Britain, Spain and Italy, according to a tally from official sources complied by AFP as of 1030 GMT Saturday.

With some 2,500,091 cases including 192,158 deaths, Europe is the worst affected continent while Latin America now has the fastest growing outbreak.

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Globally, there have been 8,680,649 cases, including 459,976 deaths.

Russia has recorded most cases in Europe, with 576,952 and 8,002 deaths, followed by Britain, 301,815 cases, 42,461 deaths; Spain, 245,575 and 28,315, and Italy, 238,011 and 34,561 fatalities.

Paramedics prepare to transfer a patient in east London during the novel coronavirus pandemic. AFP

The official figures are widely believed to comprise only a small fraction of the real number of cases and deaths.