Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world, with more than three million confirmed cases in 185 countries. At least 200,000 people have died.

The United States has more than four times as many confirmed cases as any other country.

This series of maps and charts tracks the global outbreak of the virus since it emerged in China in December last year.

The virus, which causes the respiratory infection Covid-19, was first detected in the city of Wuhan, China, in late 2019.

It is spreading rapidly in many countries and the number of deaths is still climbing.

Note: The map and table in this page uses a different source for figures for France from that used by Johns Hopkins University which results in a slightly lower overall total.

The US has by far the largest number of cases, with nearly one million confirmed infections, according to figures collated by Johns Hopkins University. This is more than 10 times the official number reported by China.

The US also has the world's highest death toll, with the number of fatalities approaching 60,000.

Spain, Italy, France and the UK - the worst-hit European countries - have all recorded more than 20,000 deaths.

Note: The past data for new cases is a three day rolling average

In China, the official death toll is just over 4,600 from about 84,000 confirmed cases. Numbers for deaths jumped on 17 April after what officials called "a statistical review".

Critics of the Chinese government have questioned whether the country's official numbers can be trusted.

The country's authorities have now lifted many of the stringent measures they brought in to bring the disease under control, including a ban on all travel to and from Wuhan - the first place to go into lockdown.

The outbreak was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March. This is when an infectious disease is passing easily from person to person in many parts of the world at the same time.

While more than three million people are known to have been infected worldwide, the true figure is thought to be much higher as many of those with milder symptoms have not been tested and counted.

New Zealand, however, says it has stopped community transmission of coronavirus, and is set to move out of its toughest level of social restrictions. From Tuesday, some non-essential businesses, healthcare and education activity will be able to resume, but most people will still have to stay at home and avoid all social interactions.

While some other countries are also beginning to ease restrictions where disease peaks are thought to have passed, such as in Europe and South Africa, others are only now starting to impose them as cases and deaths begin to rise.

Across Latin America, where many economies are already struggling and millions live on what they can earn day-to-day, there are concerns about the strain the growing number of virus cases could put on health care systems. Of particular concern are Ecuador and Brazil.

Ecuador has already seen its health system collapse - thousands have died from the virus and other conditions that could not be treated because of the crisis. While Brazil has also seen a steep rise in both cases and deaths, with every state in South America's largest country affected.

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Across the world, more than 4.5 billion people - half the world's population - are estimated to be living under social distancing measures, according to the AFP news agency.

The impact of this global shutdown is huge.

The world economy faces the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the International Monetary Fund has said.

And the UN World Food Programme has warned the pandemic could almost double the number of people suffering acute hunger.

Europe battling to slow infection rates

Italy and Spain remain the worst affected countries after the US and have been in lockdown since early March.

Spain has about 230,000 confirmed cases - the second highest global figure - while Italy has the world's second highest death toll at nearly 27,000. Both countries are now joining others around Europe in seeing a slowing of infection rates, which appears to show the success of quarantine measures.

Spain reported its lowest daily death toll since 20 March on Sunday, when it confirmed 288 more people had died of the virus - although numbers jumped slightly on Monday to 331.

The slowing of reported cases and deaths has been followed by a lifting of some restrictions for people and businesses.

Children in Spain under the age of 14 are now allowed to leave their homes for an hour a day, after six weeks in lockdown.

Italy has started to allow certain shops and factories to reopen and the prime minister says further measures will be eased from 4 May.

In the UK, there have been nearly 160,000 confirmed cases and more than 21,000 deaths.

Like Spain, deaths in the UK grew rapidly at first, doubling faster than every two days. While the rate of increase has slowed, the British government has ruled out lifting lockdown measures until at least early May.

Other European countries easing restrictions include Austria, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Germany, where facemasks have become mandatory in public transport.

In Switzerland, doctors' surgeries, dentists, nursery schools, hairdressers, florists and garden centres were among those allowed to reopen. Bars and restaurants remain closed.

New York remains epicentre of US outbreak

With close to one million cases, the US has the highest number of confirmed infections in the world. The country has also recorded more than 56,000 deaths.

The state of New York has been particularly badly affected, with more than 17,000 deaths in New York City alone, but Governor Andrew Cuomo says the toll "seems to be on a gentle decline".

On Monday, Mr Cuomo suggested some parts of his state could begin to reopen after the current stay-at-home order expires on 15 May.

At one point, more than 90% of the US population was under mandatory lockdown orders, but some states have begun to lift restrictions.

Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska and South Carolina have all allowed some businesses to reopen in recent days following official unemployment figures that showed more than 26 million Americans have filed for jobless claims in the last five weeks.

But public health authorities have warned that increasing human interactions and economic activity could spark a fresh surge of infections just as the number of new cases is beginning to ease off.

On Sunday, White House coronavirus taskforce coordinator Dr Deborah Birx said social distancing should remain the norm "through the summer to really ensure that we protect one another as we move through these phases".