COVID-19: Top 20 worst-hit countries

COVID-19 is currently wreaking havoc in Latin America, and the region is now declared the new "epicentre" of the coronavirus.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, first emerged in Wuhan, China, before it hit Iran, swept across Europe, and locked down America, the country with the most number of confirm cases today.

Then it's the turn of South America, with Brazil becoming a new flashpoint, with over 1,000 deaths daily.

On Sunday, Brazil jumped to No. 2, overtaking Russia, after recording nearly 350,000 confirmed infections and over 22,000 deaths — it's now the second-highest in the world, after the United States.

Russia has slid to No. 3. Other Latin American countries aren't far behind — including Mexico, Chile and Peru, currently struggling to contain major outbreaks. Total cases worldwide reached 5.4 million as of early Sunday (May 24, 2020).

"In a sense, South America has become a new epicentre for the disease," WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said singling out Brazil, death toll of which crossed 22,000 on Sunday.

Europe remains the hardest-hit continent, with over 2 million infections. The US, however, remains the worst-hit country. India also saw the biggest rise in confirmed cases on Sunday, with 6,767 new infections.

Worldwide, the number of coronavirus cases has reached nearly 5.5 million as on 2.25 GMT on Sunday (May 24, 2020), with Europe and the US account for over two-thirds of the cases, based on a Worldometers tally.

Here's snapshot of the numbers, with top 20 worst-hit countries: