New Delhi, November 17: The tally of COVID-19 infections in Europe topped 15 million on Tuesday, according to a list that has been compiled by leading global trackers. The number of infections, over the past six months, has grown by 10 times as the continent in northern hemisphere had crossed 1.5 million cases back in May.

Europe has been left battered with what experts have described as a "second wave" of the pandemic. The virus, after being largely controlled in the continent, struck back with the onset of Winter. The dry weather, combined with the lack of travel restrictions till earlier this month, led to a rapid transmission of the disease. UK Under 2nd 'Stay-at-Home Lockdown' for Four Weeks, Schools Exempted.

COVID-19 Infections Cross 15 Million in Europe

Western and Central Europe is the most severely affected, as compared to the eastern part of the continent. The Nordic countries have also reported fewer cases vis-a-vis other regions -- which experts attribute to the lack of density in the population.

The worst affected due to the second phase of pandemic is France, where the COVID-19 case count has crossed 1.9 million. The country has also reported more than 45,000 deaths so far. Spain and UK have reported 1.53 million and 1.39 million cases so far, whereas, the total count in Italy has peaked to 1.23 million.

In Germany, over 828,000 cases have been recorded, followed by 752,940 cases in Poland, 537,871 infections in Belgium and 373,474 in Romania.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed "extreme concern" over the spike of cases in Europe. Citing the example of second wave in the continent, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned other nations against rapidly lowering their guards.

"Right now we are extremely concerned by the surge in cases we're seeing in some countries. Particularly in Europe and the Americas, health workers and health systems are being pushed to the breaking point," he said on Monday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 18, 2020 12:14 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).