COVID-19: Global Death Toll Nears 1 mn, WHO Says Prospect of Another Million Fatalities Not Unimaginable

Notably, the US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 7,032,524 and 203,657, respectively.

New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the coronavirus fatalities could hit two million without relentless global action to combat the disease. As of Saturday morning, the total number of cases stood at 32,471,119 and the fatalities inched towards 1 million— 987,593 to be specific.

The WHO asked countries and individuals to come together to tackle the crisis, saying that the prospect of another million deaths is not unimaginable.

Speaking at a virtual presser, WHO’s emergencies director Michael Ryan said,”One million is a terrible number and we need to reflect on that before we start considering a second million.” His response can when he was asked if it was unthinkable that two million people could die in the pandemic.

Notably, the US is the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 7,032,524 and 203,657, respectively. India comes in the second place in terms of cases at 5,818,570, while the country’s death toll soared to 92,290.

He also highlighted the challenges ahead in funding, producing and distributing any eventual vaccines against the novel coronavirus.

“If we look at losing a million people in nine months and then we just look at the realities of getting a vaccine out there in the next nine months, it’s a big task for for everyone involved,” news agency AFP quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, Ryan also urged Europeans to ask themselves whether they had done enough to avoid the need for lockdowns. He questioned whether all the alternatives had been implemented, like testing and tracing, quarantine, isolation, social distancing, wearing masks and hand-washing.