The U.K. on Thursday recorded another 115 fatalities, bringing the total number of deaths to 578.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases rose to 11,658, from 9,529 on Wednesday.

The novel coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan, China, last December and has since spread to at least 169 countries and regions, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

More than 520,217 confirmed cases have been recorded worldwide with the death toll surpassing 23,500. Over 123,000 people have recovered. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a pandemic.

Despite the rising number of cases, most of the patients suffer only mild symptoms and recover.