One million people have now died from coronavirus globally

World

More than a million people around the world have now died in the coronavirus pandemic.

The data from Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking the outbreak, also shows more than 33 million COVID-19 cases have been reported.

It comes after a significant rise in infections has triggered local lockdowns in countries such as France, Spain and the UK.

Coronavirus cases have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

On 22 September, the death toll in the United States, which has suffered more fatalities than any other country, passed 200,000.



Bereaved share stories of COVID deaths as disease reaches one million dead







Bereaved share COVID stories as disease reaches one million dead

India has the fastest infection rate in the world and is close to becoming the country with the highest number of cases.

The nation of 1.3 billion people currently has around 5.9 million infections – second only to the US, which has recorded more than seven million.

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However, India’s fatality rate is one of the lowest in the world, with experts saying it may be down to reasons such as its younger population.

Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival, meanwhile, has been postponed for the first time in a century as Brazil continues to battle the second-deadliest coronavirus outbreak in the world.

Israel, which in September became the first country to re-enter a strict national lockdown, has voted to further tighten measures after restrictions failed to bring down the infection rate.

In the UK, around 17 million people – more than a quarter of the population – are living under tougher coronavirus restrictions after new measures on socialising came into force in large parts of the country.

In Africa, the World Health Organisation has said the outbreak may have passed its peak, but warned governments against complacency to avoid a second wave.

The WHO’s emergencies chief has said the number of global coronavirus deaths could reach two million before a vaccine is found and widely used, and without concerted action to curb the pandemic.

“It’s certainly unimaginable,”said Dr Mike Ryan.

“But it’s not impossible, because if we look at losing a million people in nine months and then we just look at the realities of getting a vaccine out there in the next nine months, it’s a big task for everyone involved.”

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