Covid-19: Cases exceed five million globally

By Vatican News

Globally there are now over 5 million coronavirus cases and more than 328,000 deaths caused by Covid-19. Those are the stark numbers collated by the US based Johns Hopkins University.

This pandemic is a true human tragedy which knows no boundaries. Included in these grim statistics are the mothers, fathers, daughters, priests and religious who have lost their lives to this invisible foe.

There are also the frontline doctors and nurses who have been infected while tending to patients in their care.

Latin America

In Latin America Covid-19 is emerging as the new epicentre. Nearly 570,000 people have been infected and more than 31,000 have died as result of the virus.

There is concern that Brazil could soon have the second-highest number of cases in the world behind the United States.

The country’s Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 888 new deaths and nearly 20,000 new infections in just one day.

Russia

There is also no letup in Russia. On Thursday the overall death toll surpassed 3,000 after 127 people died from the disease.

It has the second highest number of cases in the world with over 300,000 people registered as having Covid-19.

Meanwhile, in the United States the crisis continues to wreak havoc on people’s lives.

A recent survey conducted by the US Census Bureau showed that as a result of the pandemic, more than 10% of U.S. households said they could not get enough of the food they needed.

The survey also reported that over a quarter of respondents said they were having difficulty paying their rent or mortgage.