Global death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic reaches a grim milestone

The global death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to reach one-million sometime today, based on the official tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

But experts believe the true number is much higher, considering the difficulties in testing and identifying virus-related deaths early in the health crisis.

The grim milestone also comes at a time when many countries are either approaching or are in the midst of a second wave of COVID-19.

The US already has surpassed 200,000 virus-related deaths, with the CDC warning tens of thousands more Americans could die as the weather gets colder.