MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. /TASS/. At least 210,000 people across the globe have contracted the novel coronavirus infection, more than 9,000 have died, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday citing its Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"Every day, #COVID19 seems to reach a new and tragic milestone. More than 210,000 cases have now been reported to WHO, and more than 9,000 people have lost their lives," it wrote on its Twitter account. "Every loss of life is a tragedy. It’s also motivation to double down and do everything we can to stop transmission and save lives."

A pneumonia outbreak caused by the COVID-19 virus (previously known as 2019-nCoV) was reported in China’s city of Wuhan, a large trade and industrial center with a population of 12 million, in late December 2019. Cases of the new coronavirus have also been reported from more than 140 countries and territories, including Russia, which by now has 253 cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially described the situation with the novel coronavirus as a pandemic.