This article originally appeared on the NHCOA blog.
Credit: NHCOA
Around the world, several countries are registering new spikes in cases, indicating a second wave of COVID-19. The rise in cases is driven by Europe, the United States and some countries in South America.
In total, more than 47 million people have been infected around the world, more than a million deaths due to the pandemic, and the numbers seem to increase disproportionately over time.
In Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced that deaths from COVID-19 increased by almost 40% compared to previous records. Countries such as France and Germany have partially closed again in order to stop the spread of the virus. In Spain, a state of alarm came into force for the entire country and a night curfew, lasting 15 days, was imposed due to the unstoppable increase of cases.
The region reported the highest weekly incidence of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with nearly 700,000 cases. Currently, the coronavirus is the fifth leading cause of death in Europe with up to 1000 deaths reported in one day.
Likewise, the United States shows surprising numbers of spread. According to John Hopkins University, the country exceeded 10.3 million cases and more than 240,000 deaths. The number of infections grows every day, recording more than 83,000 positive cases in one day. The cases are more than double from what was reported a month ago. On September 30, the country ended the month with 42,058 cases, while 33,430 was the amount registered in August.
COVID-19 case rates also increased in Latin America, which also has some of the highest COVID-19 death rates in the world. Brazil, Argentina and Colombia are the countries with most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Latin America.
Brazil has reported more than 5.5 million confirmed cases and more than 160,000 deaths due to the pandemic. Colombia, having significantly less confirmed cases than Brazil (1,130,533 cases), is still seeing rapid spread and a daily number of confirmed cases averaging around 10,000.
Cases and deaths are rising across the globe, including in the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa. In Africa, since the first spread was reported in Egypt, the region has accumulated more than 1.6 million positive cases and more than 39,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Africa).
In light of this alarming reality, NHCOA makes a call of conscience to all people to continue following the recommended health protocols, such as the wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing and having a good hand hygiene. Only together, following all the preventive measures, we can stop this disease that threatens all of us.
Reference:
BBC:
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-54714866
Noticias ONU:
https://news.un.org/es/story/2020/10/1482442
Prensa Látina:
Agencia EFE:
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Diverse Elders Coalition.