Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Global COVID-19 death toll exceeds 4 million – Reuters tally

Published 18/06/2021, 01:19
Updated 18/06/2021, 06:31
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Relatives stand next to the burning pyre of a man who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during his cremation at a crematorium ground in Srinagar May 25, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Relatives stand next to the burning pyre of a man who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during his cremation at a crematorium ground in Srinagar May 25, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

(Corrects day of week in first paragraph)

By Roshan Abraham and Ahmed Farhatha

(Reuters) - Coronavirus-related deaths worldwide passed a grim milestone of 4 million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, as many countries struggle to procure enough vaccines to inoculate their populations.

While the number of new cases and deaths have abated in countries like the United States and Britain, several nations have vaccine shortages as the Delta variant becomes the dominant strain around the world.

It took over a year for the COVID-19 death toll to hit 2 million, while the next 2 million were recorded in just 166 days, according to a Reuters analysis.

The top five countries by total number of deaths – the United States, Brazil, India, Russia and Mexico – represent about 50% of all deaths in the world, while Peru, Hungary, Bosnia, the Czech Republic and Gibraltar have the highest death rates when adjusted for population. (Graphic on global cases and deaths) https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi

Countries in Latin America are facing their worst outbreak since March, with 43 of every 100 infections in the world being reported in the region, according to a Reuters analysis. The top nine countries reporting the most deaths per capita over the last week were all in Latin America.

Graphic: Top 10 countries reporting the most COVID-19 deaths - https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/DEATHS-PERCAPITA/yxmvjadaepr/chart.png

Hospitals in Bolivia, Chile and Uruguay are largely seeing COVID-19 patients between the ages of 25 and 40 as the trend toward younger patients continued. In Brazil's Sao Paulo, 80% of intensive care units (ICU) occupants are COVID-19 patients.

Soaring deaths are straining the operating capacity of crematoriums in developing nations and gravediggers in several countries have been forced to expand cemeteries with row after row of new tombs.

India and Brazil are the countries reporting the most deaths each day on a seven-day average and are still troubled with cremation woes and lack of burial space. India accounts for one in every three deaths reported worldwide each day, according to a Reuters analysis.

Many health experts believe that official death toll to be undercounted globally, with the World Health Organization (WHO) last month estimating fatalities to be much higher.

Last week, the Indian state of Bihar raised its COVID-19 death toll sharply higher after the discovery of thousands of unreported cases, lending weight to concerns that India's overall death tally is significantly more than the official figure.

As poorer nations struggle to inoculate their populations due to vaccine shortages, wealthier countries have been urged to donate more to control the pandemic.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Gravediggers open new graves as the number of dead rose after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at Vila Formosa cemetery, Brazil's biggest cemetery, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli/File Photo

"The primary issue in the Americas is vaccine access, not vaccine acceptance," Pan American Health Organization Director Carissa Etienne said Wednesday, urging donor countries to send shots as soon as possible.

The Group of Seven (G7) rich nations had pledged to provide 1 billion COVID-19 vaccinations to help poorer countries vaccinate their populations.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.