Coronavirus latest: Malaysia extends partial lockdown, nearly half of Europe’s deaths in care homes
- More than half of Europe’s Covid-19 deaths have been in nursing homes, says the WHO
- Singapore reports more than 1,000 new cases for fourth consecutive day; Vietnam relaxes virus restrictions
The Covid-19 pandemic has killed more than 180,000 people and infected over 2.6 million, as nations struggle to check its spread with social distancing measures and lockdowns, while trying to repair their virus-ravaged economies. Some have started to slowly ease restrictions as pressure mounts on governments to find ways to reopen their societies after tens of millions of jobs were wiped out.
But World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has cautioned that the struggle is far from over.
“Make no mistake: we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time,” he said. “Most countries are still in the early stages of their epidemics. And some that were affected early in the pandemic are now starting to see a resurgence in cases.”
The comments came after the director of the US Centres for Disease Control asked Americans to prepare for a second, possibly more devastating, wave of coronavirus infections. The United States is the hardest-hit country on the planet, with more than 46,500 coronavirus deaths and nearly 840,000 infections.
The outbreaks in western Europe appeared to be stable or declining. However, “although numbers are low, we see worrying upwards trends in Africa, Central and South America, and eastern Europe”, he said.
