Global confirmed coronavirus cases top 200,000 as US deaths reach 110

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide officially topped 200,000 Wednesday morning as the U.S. death toll reached 110, according to data pulled by Johns Hopkins University.

This comes nearly four months after the first cases of COVID-19 were discovered in Wuhan, China. The epicenter of the pandemic, which once ravaged the city and its surrounding province Hubei, has now shifted over to Europe.

China is still the country with the most confirmed cases, at more than 81,000, but nearly 57,000 in Hubai alone have recovered.

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Italy has been the second hardest-hit country with more than 31,000 cases.

However, German health authorities warned it was just a matter of time before the numbers spike unless people heed warnings to avoid contact.

Lothar Wieler, head of Germany's disease control institute, warned that unless social contacts are effectively reduced there could be up to 10 million infected people in Germany in two to three months.

"We are at the start of the epidemic," he said. "We are 1-2 weeks behind Italy."

In the United States, cases topped 6,500 Wednesday morning as the death toll reached at least 110. West Virginia also became the last state to report a case of the disease Tuesday.

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Officials urged older Americans and those with health problems to stay home. They also recommended all gatherings be capped at 10 people.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that residents should be prepared for the possibility of a shelter-in-place order within days. A shelter-in-place order in the San Francisco Bay Area, requiring most residents to leave their homes only for food, medicine or exercise for three weeks, is the most sweeping lockdown in the U.S.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.