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10% of world population may have been infected with Covid-19, says World Health Organisation

A woman wearing white protective gear mourns after taking a glimpse of her husband's body, a victim of Covid-19, at a cremation site in Gauhati, India, on September 10 2020. Picture by Anupam Nath, AP
A woman wearing white protective gear mourns after taking a glimpse of her husband's body, a victim of Covid-19, at a cremation site in Gauhati, India, on September 10 2020. Picture by Anupam Nath, AP A woman wearing white protective gear mourns after taking a glimpse of her husband's body, a victim of Covid-19, at a cremation site in Gauhati, India, on September 10 2020. Picture by Anupam Nath, AP

The head of emergencies at the World Health Organisation (WHO) said its "best estimates" indicate that roughly one in 10 people worldwide may have been infected by the coronavirus.

Dr Michael Ryan, speaking today to a meeting of the WHO's 34-member executive board focusing on Covid-19, said the figures vary from urban to rural, and between different groups, but that ultimately it means "the vast majority of the world remains at risk".

The estimate - which would amount to more than 760 million people based on the current world population of about 7.6 billion - far outstrips the number of confirmed cases as tallied by both WHO and Johns Hopkins University, now more than 35 million worldwide.

Experts have long said that the number of confirmed cases greatly underestimates the true figure.

Read more: Coronavirus - What does the 'new normal' look like around the world?