The number of COVID-19 infections in the Eastern Europe sub-region has surpassed the 5 million mark, according to a Reuters tally.

The region, which comprises Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine, has the highest count of reported COVID-19 cases in Europe.

Various European governments have reintroduced COVID-19 restrictions in efforts to curb further spread of the virus.

Russia's tally of over 2.06 million infections is the second-highest in Europe and the fifth-highest globally.

From the Eastern European sub-region, tallies posted by Russia, Poland, and Ukraine are among the top 20 highest cases in the world.

Europe has so far registered more than 15 million COVID-19 cases, making it the region with the highest number of infections.