Global infections from the novel coronavirus passed five million on Thursday as the pandemic played out unevenly across the planet, with China eager to declare a victory, Europe tentatively emerging from its shell and deaths still rising in hotspots in Latin America.
The grim milestone comes after known cases of COVID-19 doubled in just one month, according to AFP data collected from official sources, with the death toll now topping 328,000 worldwide.
While many hard-hit European countries have significantly turned the tide on new infections and fatalities, Latin America is in the grip of an infection surge.
Brazil is leading the pack, logging the third-highest number of cases in the world after the US and Russia.
Peru, Mexico and Chile have also seen steady increases in infections, with nurses in Lima warning that the health system is on the brink of collapse after cases and deaths tripled over the past three weeks.
“It’s like a horror film,” Miguel Armas, a nurse at the Hipolito Unanue hospital in the capital Lima, told AFP.
“Inside it seems like a cemetery given all the bodies. Patients are dying in their chairs (or) in their wheelchairs.”
In Brazil, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro continues to scorn experts’ advice on curbing the contagion as he presses regional governors to end stay-at-home measures.
And like US President Donald Trump, he has promoted the use of anti-malaria drugs against the virus despite studies showing they have no benefit and could have dangerous side effects.
(AFP)
(AFP)
Receive news alert via Whatsapp from The Forefront Media Org, send a message to +2348124620827.
FOLLOW:
SHARE THIS POST NOW WITH OTHERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Disclaimer!!! Opinions expressed in comments do not represent THE FOREFRONT MEDIA NG's views. All participants are entitled to their opinions. Thank you!!!
Advertise on the Forefront: For advert placement in the blog or advert posts like news updates, reach +2348124620827 [WhatsApp].
Copyright 2022 The Forefront Media Ng. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from The Forefront Media Ng