Global Covid-19 Fatalities May Reach 2 Million-Mark Before Vaccine Is Available For Wide Use: WHO

WHO emergencies head Mike Ryan said that the figure of Covid-19 deaths could be even worrying if required international efforts are not in place.

(Representative Image/Getty)

Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned one and all that the coronavirus death toll across the world may reach two million-mark before an effective vaccine is available to be widely used.  WHO emergencies head Mike Ryan said that without required international efforts, the figure could be even more worrying. Meanwhile, nine months after the outbreak began in China, the number of Covid-19 fatalities is already approaching one million. The WHO emergencies head also encouraged Europeans to ask themselves whether they had done sufficient practices in place to avoid the need for lockdowns. He asked if all the alternatives such as testing and tracing, quarantine, isolation, social distancing, wearing masks and hand-washing, had been implemented. Earlier, in France, staff from bars and restaurants in the southern city Marseille protested against the closure of their workplaces which was brought in on Saturday. And in the UK, tougher restrictions were announced in several areas as new daily infections rise. Spain's capital Madrid brought another eight districts under tougher coronavirus restrictions, which now affect a million people in the city. WATCH | COVID-19 does not spread from dead bodies, claims Bhopal AIIMS Research