Global deaths linked to the coronavirus passed 200,000 on Saturday, while confirmed cases of the virus are expected to hit three million in coming days, according to a Reuters tally.
More than half of the fatalities have been reported by the United States, Spain and Italy.
Mortuary employees transport the body of a person in an elderly residence following the coronavirus disease outbreak in Brussels, Belgium, on 14th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Yves Herman/File Photo
The first death linked to the disease was reported on 10th January in Wuhan, China. It took 91 days for the death toll to pass 100,000 and a further 16 days to reach 200,000, according to the Reuters tally of official reports from governments.
By comparison, there are an estimated 400,000 deaths annually from malaria, one of the world’s most deadly infectious diseases.
The United States had reported more than 52,400 deaths as of Saturday morning, while Italy, Spain and France have reported between 22,000-26,000 fatalities each.
Of the top 20 most severely affected countries, Belgium has reported the highest number of fatalities per capita, with six deaths per 10,000 people, compared to 4.9 in Spain and 1.6 in the United States.
Around eight per cent of all cases reported in the United States have been fatal, while more than 10 per cent of cases reported in Spain and Italy have resulted in deaths.
However those rates would be considerably lower if the infection totals included the many cases of the illness that go unreported – since not everyone with symptoms is tested.
Asia and Latin America have each reported more than 7,000 deaths, while the Middle East has reported upwards of 8,800. The current toll in Africa is around 1,350.
The global death toll has continued to grow at a rate of three to four per cent per day over the past 10 days, though that rate has slowed since the beginning of the month.
The true number of fatalities is expected to be higher as many countries have not included deaths recorded in nursing homes and other locations outside hospitals.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said on Saturday that there was currently “no evidence” that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second coronavirus infection.
In a scientific brief, the United Nations agency warned governments against issuing “immunity passports” or “risk-free certificates” to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be guaranteed.
The practice could actually increase the risks of continued spread as people who have recovered may ignore advice about taking standard precautions against the virus, it said.
“Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘risk-free certificate’ that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection,” the WHO said.
“There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,” it said.
Chile said last week it would begin handing out “health passports” to people deemed to have recovered from the illness. Once screened to determine if they have developed antibodies to make them immune to the virus, they could immediately rejoin the workforce.
The WHO said it continued to review the evidence on antibody responses to the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. Some 2.8 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 196,298 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Most studies have shown that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus, the WHO said. However, some of them have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies in their blood, “suggesting that cellular immunity may also be critical for recovery”, it added.
– With STEPHANIE NEBEHAY, Geneva, Switzerland
