The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus worldwide has exceeded 372,000, over 16,000 have died, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its daily coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report.

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The total number of cases has reached 372,757, most have been registered in Europe - more than 195,000 cases. The global death toll has reached 16,231, of which more than 10,000 deaths were in the European region. The Western Pacific Region region is second after Europe with 96,580 confirmed cases and 3502 deaths.

Earlier in the day, the WHO spokesperson had said that with the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the United States, the country could become the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. "Europe is still the centre of the pandemic, but there had been "a very large acceleration" in cases in the US," the WHO spokesperson said at a news conference in Geneva on March 24, as quoted by NHK World. Previously, the number of COVID-19 cases was reported to be 3,32,930 with 14,509 fatalities.