Over 7,000 Health Workers Dead From Covid-19 Worldwide

By Nsunjo Erica

According to a report by Amnesty International, at least 7,000 health workers worldwide have died after being infected with the coronavirus.

“Many months into the pandemic, health workers are still dying at horrific rates in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and the USA, while the rapid spread of infections in South Africa and India show the need for all states to take action,” the report said.

According to Amnesty’s report, Mexico is the leading country with the highest number of deaths arising from health workers, At least 1,320 health workers are confirmed to have died from Covid-19 in the country.

Other hard-hit countries by COVID-19 deaths among health workers include the United States with 1,077, the United Kingdom with 649, and Brazil with 634, and Russia with 631 and India with 573.

Amnesty researchers added that even these figures are likely to be “a significant underestimate,” as deaths may not have been officially registered in many countries worldwide.

The report stated that in some countries like India, Brazil, and South Africa, frontline health workers have complained about shortages of personal protective equipment and broader working conditions

There have also been reports that hospital cleaners in most of these countries are especially vulnerable to infection following decades of neglect but countries said they are working to improve standards.

According to Steve Cockburn, head of economic and social justice at the London-based rights group, throughout the pandemic governments have hailed health workers as heroes, but this rings hollow when so many workers are dying from a lack of basic protection.

As of currently released stats, the overall number of global coronavirus cases has reached 23.8 million, as the deaths keep increasing to over 818,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University,

The University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that as of Wednesday 26th, August 2020, the total number of global cases stood at 23,820,104 and the fatalities rose to 818,137.

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