Daily US Times: The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the two million deaths could possile from coronavirus before an effective vaccine is widely used.
WHO’s emergencies head Dr Mike Ryan said the figure could be higher without concerted international action.
Almost one million people have died with Covid-19 around the world since the disease first emerged in China late last year.
Virus infections continue to rise worldwide, with 32 million cases confirmed globally.
As winter approaches, the start of a second surge of coronavirus infections has been seen in many countries in the northern hemisphere.
So far, the US, Brazil and India have confirmed the most cases, recording more than 15 million between them.
But there has been a resurgence of infections across Europe in recent days, prompting warnings of national lockdowns similar to those imposed at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.
Dr Ryan said of the marked spike in cases in Europe, “Overall within that very large region, we are seeing worrying increases of the disease.”
He urged Europeans to ask themselves whether they had done enough to avoid the need for lockdowns – and whether alternatives, such as tracing and testing, quarantines and social distancing, had been implemented.
At the WHO’s headquarters in Geneva, Dr Ryan told reporters: “Lockdowns are almost a last resort – and to think that we’re back in last-resort territory in September, that’s a pretty sobering thought.”
Being asked whether two million deaths worldwide was possible before a vaccine became available, Dr Ryan said: “It’s not impossible.”
He added that fatality rates were dropping as treatments for the disease improve.
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