Number of COVID-19 Victims Surpasses One Million Mark
The World Health Organization does not rule out the number of victims from the coronavirus outbreak in the world surpassing the two million mark. Johns Hopkins University has officially confirmed the news of the increase in the number of COVID-19 death victims surpassing one million.
Health experts had predicted that the number of coronavirus victims would surpass one million during the current week. A prediction that came true on the first day of this week, Monday, September 28.
According to statistics published by Johns Hopkins University, the number of COVID-19 death victims has reached one million and 867.
Among these, the United States ranks first with over 205 thousand deaths. Following America, Brazil with 142 thousand and India with over 95 thousand victims rank in subsequent positions.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus infection has also reached over 33 million. Of which, the number of cases in three countries—the United States (over seven million), India (over six million), and Brazil (over four million and 700 thousand)—account for more than half of all coronavirus cases worldwide.
Distribution of Affordable Tests to Poor Countries
Health and medical experts agree on one point: the number of coronavirus cases is higher than the official statistics reported. The reason should be sought in the lack of coronavirus testing facilities. This is especially true for poor countries like India.
The World Health Organization has announced that if the world does not act collectively and with international cooperation to prevent further spread of this virus, there is a possibility that the number of coronavirus victims will double.
While Donald Trump speaks of distributing 150 million coronavirus tests in America, many countries in the world do not have adequate access to coronavirus test packages. Furthermore, the time-consuming nature of obtaining coronavirus test results has also made dealing with COVID-19 more difficult.
Under such circumstances, the World Health Organization has announced through a news release that 120 million affordable coronavirus tests will soon be distributed among poor countries.
The cost of these tests has been announced at approximately 5 dollars, with the advantage being the speed of obtaining results. The World Health Organization stated in its report that the results of these tests are revealed within 15 to 30 minutes.
Distribution of these affordable tests globally could prove effective in diagnosing cases and combating further spread of the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization has announced that these 120 million tests will be distributed among 133 countries over a six-month period. The production cost of these tests is estimated at around 600 million dollars, with the budget provided by the World Health Organization.
Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization, has stated that the organization has benefited from financial assistance from countries to combat the coronavirus outbreak and will now use the collected funds to purchase and distribute these tests.
It is said that these affordable and rapid tests will initially be made available to medical personnel in low-income countries.
The World Health Organization has announced that the error rate of these affordable tests is slightly higher than the expensive tests available, but their advantage is that results are obtained very quickly and they do not require advanced laboratories.
Source: DW
