The global total of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 1.4 million with Europe accounting for half of them.

“As of today, Europe remains very much at the centre of the pandemic — and on the one hand we have reason to be optimistic, and on the other to be very concerned,” Hans Kluge, the regional director of WHO Europe, said early Wednesday.

Kluge added that 1,441,128 people have been infected with COVID-19 worldwide with 687,236 of them being in the “European Region”. “Seven of the top ten countries that are most affected across the globe are located in the European Region: Following USA, we have Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and then after China and Iran, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Switzerland,” he said, according to NY Daily News.

“We’re also seeing higher, or much higher than expected levels of mortality from all causes in some countries. This unexpected increase is mainly in people over the age of 65, and is a marker for COVID-19 activity since mid-March.”

The United States has the highest number of infections worldwide at 400,000 but the death toll in Spain and Italy still stands at the highest.