UN Secretary General António Guterres has described the number of more than one million people who have died after being infected with the coronavirus as an “excruciating milestone”. “It’s a numbing number,” Guterres said, according to a statement on Tuesday night in New York. “Nevertheless, we must never lose sight of the individual lives: they were fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, friends and colleagues.”
Our world has reached an agonizing milestone: the loss of 1 million lives to #COVID19.
We must never lose sight of each & every life.
As the hunt for a vaccine — affordable and available to all — continues, let’s honour their memory by working together to defeat this virus. pic.twitter.com/iZ1UnN8d4i
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) September 29, 2020
Guterres called on people worldwide to continue to adhere to the rules of distance and hygiene and to wear masks. “We can overcome this challenge.” This requires responsible leadership, science and global collaboration.
Previously, data from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore had shown that since the beginning of the corona pandemic, more than a million people worldwide have died after being infected with the virus. More than 33.2 million infections have been detected. Experts assume a high number of unreported cases.
The Hopkins University website is regularly updated with in-depth data and therefore shows a higher level than the official figures from the World Health Organization (WHO). In some cases, however, the numbers have recently been revised downwards again.
The WHO recorded more than 996,000 deaths and a good 33 million known infections by Monday. The coronavirus pandemic began in China around the turn of the year. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can trigger the disease Covid-19, which can be fatal, especially in elderly or immunocompromised patients.
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