Global coronavirus infections surged past 15 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, with the pandemic gathering pace even as countries remain divided in their response to the crisis.

The total of 15,009,213 cases is at least triple the number of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually, according to World Health Organization data, while the death toll of more than 616,000 in seven months is close to the upper range of yearly influenza deaths.

The global tally reached the grim new milestone after India, which has the third largest number of infections in the world behind the United States and Brazil, reported almost 40,000 new cases in its daily update.