The COVID-19 pandemic has already left more than six million dead worldwide as it enters the third year of this health crisis, according to an independent count by Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
This tragic milestone coincides with the lifting of restrictions in numerous countries in Western Europe and the American continent regarding the use of masks and limitations on international travel, after the emergence of the omicron variant at the end of 2021; while in other areas, such as Asia and the Pacific, a high number of cases continue to be registered.
In total, more than 450 million infections have been confirmed worldwide of this new coronavirus.
By country, the United States continues to be the most affected country, with almost more than 950,000 deaths; followed by Brazil, with more than 650,000 deaths; and India with more than 500,000.
Although vaccines have been shown to be effective against the most severe cases, significant global disparities persist.
In low-income countries, only 7% of the population is fully vaccinated, while in the case of high-income countries the percentage is higher than 70% of the population, according to data compiled by the Our World in Data portal.
On December 31, 2019, the Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of the appearance of cases of a then unknown pneumonic disease in the city of Wuhan, and the Geneva-based organization informed its members in the first days of January.
A month later, on January 30, 2020, the agency declared an international emergency due to the coronavirus, when cases began to be declared in other countries on the planet, although it would not consider the health crisis a pandemic proper until March 11.
Source: Gestion
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