Global number of deaths in COVID-19 reaches 2 million

(Reuters) – The worldwide number of coronavirus deaths exceeded 2 million on Friday, according to a Reuters count, as nations around the world are trying to acquire multiple vaccines and detect new variants of COVID-19.

It took the world nine months to register the first 1 million deaths from the new coronavirus, but only three months to go from 1 million to 2 million deaths, illustrating an accelerated rate of fatalities. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)

So far in 2021, deaths have averaged more than 11,900 a day or a life lost every eight seconds, according to a Reuters count.

“Our world has reached a heartbreaking milestone,” said United Nations chief Antonio Guterres in a video.

“Behind this impressive number are names and faces: the smile is now just a memory, the seat is forever empty at the dinner table, the room that echoes with the silence of a loved one,” he said, calling for more global coordination and funding for the vaccination effort.

On April 1, the global death toll could reach 2.9 million, according to a forecast by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. (bit.ly/3bHmcf0)

Given the speed with which the virus is spreading due to more infectious variants, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the worst may lie ahead.

“We are entering a second year of this. It could be even more difficult given the dynamics of transmission and some of the problems we are seeing, ”said Mike Ryan, WHO’s chief emergency officer, during an event on Wednesday.

The United States has the highest total number of deaths at over 386,000 and accounts for one in four reported deaths worldwide each day. The next most affected countries are Brazil, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Combined, the five countries contribute to almost 50% of all COVID-19 deaths in the world, but represent only 27% of the global population. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/3qmr8d9)

Europe, the most affected region in the world, has recorded more than 615,000 deaths so far and accounts for almost 31% of all COVID-related deaths globally.

In India, which recently surpassed 151,000 deaths, vaccination is expected to start on Saturday, in an effort that authorities expect 300 million high-risk people to be vaccinated in the next six to eight months.