The COVID-19 pandemic has now killed 5 million people around the world

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In this Sept. 21, 2021, file photo, visitors sit among white flags that are part of artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg’s «In America: Remember,» a temporary art installation to commemorate Americans who have died of COVID-19, on the National Mall in Washington.

Patrick Semansky/AP

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Patrick Semansky/AP

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But in other parts of the world, health officials are seeing worrying signs of a coronavirus surge — just as some nations are relaxing measures to international travelers.

This official global tally only accounts for confirmed cases around the world, according to Amber D’Souza, professor of epidemiology at the university’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, who spoke to National Geographic.

Prior to Johns Hopkins releasing the latest global data on Monday D’Souza told the outlet: «It’s quite possible that the number of deaths is double what we see. But five million is such a staggering number on its own. No country has been able to escape it.»

Europe and Southeast Asia report a surge in cases

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A medical worker prepares a shot of Russia’s Sputnik Lite coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in the GUM, State Department store, in Red Square with the St. Basil Cathedral in the background, in Moscow, Russia, Oct. 26, 2021. The global death toll from COVID-19 has topped 5 million.

Pavel Golovkin/AP

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Pavel Golovkin/AP

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On Friday, Reuters reported that Poland’s total number of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic passed 3 million. Daily cases are quickly gaining pace as the country is in the middle of the fourth wave of the virus.

In Singapore, where officials have decided to coexist with the coronavirus and cease lockdown measures, a jump in cases have been reported there, too.

More than 80% of Singapore’s population have been immunized from COVID-19. Yet as of Oct. 30 cases jumped to well over 3,000 cases a day in about two months.

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