Death toll nears 6 million as pandemic enters its 3rd year



The death toll approached 6 million as the epidemic entered its third year<br />













































Bangkok, March 7 / BNA / The official global death toll from the emerging coronavirus (Covid-19) is close to exceeding 6 million, confirming that the epidemic, which is now entering its third year, is not over yet.


The achievement is another tragic reminder of the harsh nature of the pandemic even as people throw down masks, resume travel and reopen businesses around the world. The death toll, compiled by Johns Hopkins University, was 5,997,994 as of Sunday afternoon, according to the Associated Press (AP).


The remote Pacific islands, whose isolation has protected them for more than two years, are now grappling with their first outbreaks and deaths, fueled by a highly contagious omicron variant.


Hong Kong, which is on the rise in deaths, is testing all of its 7.5 million residents three times this month as it sticks to mainland China’s “zero COVID” strategy.


With death rates continuing to rise in Poland, Hungary, Romania and other eastern European countries, the region has seen the arrival of more than a million refugees from war-torn Ukraine, a country with poor vaccination coverage and high rates of cases and deaths.


Despite its wealth and availability of a vaccine, the United States is close to 1 million self-reported deaths.


Worldwide death rates remain higher among people who are not immune to the virus, said Tiki Bang, visiting professor at the National University of Singapore School of Medicine and co-chair of the Asia Pacific Immunization Alliance.


“This is an unvaccinated disease – look what’s happening in Hong Kong right now, the health system is overwhelmed,” said Pang, a former director of research policy and cooperation with the World Health Organization. “The vast majority of deaths and severe cases occur in a vulnerable and vulnerable segment of the population.”


It took the world seven months to record its first million deaths from the virus after the pandemic began in early 2020. Four months later, another million people had died, and a million people have died every three months since, until the death toll reached 5 million. At the end of October. It has now reached 6 million – more than the population of Berlin and Brussels combined, or the entire state of Maryland.


But despite the magnitude of this number, the world undoubtedly reached 6 million deaths some time ago. Poor record keeping and testing in many parts of the world has led to a decrease in the number of coronavirus deaths, as well as excess deaths related to the pandemic but not from actual COVID-19 infections, such as people who died of preventable causes but were unable to receive treatment because hospitals were full.


When countries’ excess death numbers are studied nearly fourfold, the number of reported deaths is likely to have died from the pandemic, said Edward Mathieu, head of data at Our World in Data Gateway.


An analysis of excess deaths by a team at The Economist estimates the number of COVID-19 deaths to be between 14 million and 23.5 million.


“Confirmed deaths are a fraction of the true number of deaths from COVID, mostly due to limited testing and challenges in determining the cause of death,” Matteo told The Associated Press. “In some countries, mostly rich, this portion is high and the official tally can be considered fairly accurate, but in others it is greatly underestimated.”


The United States has the largest official death toll in the world, but the numbers have been trending downward over the past month.


Lonnie Bailey lost his 17-year-old nephew Carlos Nunez Jr., who contracted COVID-19 last April — the same month Kentucky opened his age group for vaccinations. A Louisville resident said the family was still struggling, including Carlos’s younger brother, who was hospitalized himself and symptoms still linger. The re-opening of the aggressive country has been troubling to them.


“For us it’s hard to let our guard down; it’s going to take some time for us to adjust,” said Bailey.


The World Health Organization reported this week that the world has seen more than 445 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, and new weekly cases have recently been declining in all regions except the Western Pacific, which includes China, Japan and South Korea, among others. .


Although the overall numbers in the Pacific islands that saw their first outbreaks are small compared to larger countries, they are large among their small populations and threaten to overwhelm fragile healthcare systems.


“Given what we know about the novel coronavirus … it’s likely to hit them at least the next year or so,” said Katie Greenwood, head of the Pacific Red Cross delegation.


Tonga reported the first outbreak of the virus after international relief ships arrived after a massive volcano eruption on January 15, which was followed by a tsunami. It now has several hundred cases, but – with 66% of its entire population vaccinated – so far it has reported that people have mostly mild symptoms and no deaths.


The Solomon Islands saw the first outbreak of the virus in January, and it now has thousands of cases and more than 100 deaths. Greenwood said the actual death toll is likely to be much higher, with the capital’s hospital overcrowded and many dying in their homes.


Only 12% of Solomon Islanders have been fully vaccinated, although the outbreak has given a new impetus to the country’s vaccination drive and 29% now have at least one injection.


Global vaccine disparity persists, with only 6.95% of people in low-income countries fully vaccinated, compared to more than 73% in high-income countries, according to Our World in Data.


In a good indication, at the end of last month Africa overtook Europe in the number of doses taken per day, but only about 12.5% ​​of its population received two doses.


The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still pushing for more vaccines, although it has been a challenge. Some shipments arrive with little warning to countries’ health systems and others close to the expiration date – spoiling the doses.


Eastern Europe was particularly hard hit by the omicron variant, and with the Russian invasion of Ukraine a new danger emerged as hundreds of thousands of people fled to places like Poland in crowded trains. Health officials there were providing free vaccinations to all refugees, but they were not tested on arrival or quarantined.


“This is really tragic because extreme stress has a very negative effect on the natural immunity and increases the risk of infection,” said Anna Boron Kaczmarska, a Polish infectious disease specialist. “They are under so much pressure, they fear for their lives and the lives of their children and family members.”


Mexico has reported 300,000 deaths, but with little testing, a government analysis of death certificates brings the true number closer to 500,000. However, four weeks of low infection rates have health officials optimistic.


In India, where the world has been shocked by images of open-air crematoriums as crematoriums are overcrowded, scars are fading as the number of new cases and deaths slows.


India has recorded more than 500,000 deaths, but experts believe the true number of victims is in the millions, mainly from the delta variable. Migrants from India’s vast hinterland are now returning to its giant cities in search of jobs, and the streets are full of traffic. Malls have customers, albeit still masked, while schools and universities welcome students after a months-long hiatus.


In Britain, infections have fallen since an Omicron-driven increase in December, but they remain high. England has now lifted all restrictions, including mask mandates and a requirement that all those who test positive be isolated at home.


With around 250,000 deaths reported, the smaller death toll on the African continent is believed to be caused by underreporting, as well as by a younger, less mobile population.


“Africa is a big question mark for me, because it has been relatively spared the worst so far, but it may just be a time bomb,” Pang said, referring to its low vaccination rates.


In South Africa, Soweto resident Thoko Dube said she received news of the death of two members of her family on the same day in January 2021 — a month before the country received its first vaccinations.


It was tough, she said, but “the family is coping.” “We accepted that because it happened to other families.”

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