Yahoo Finance Coronavirus: Pandemic ‘not over’, warns WHO as Brazil reports record number of daily deaths
The Covid-19 pandemic is “not over”, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned after Brazil reported a daily record number of deaths on Thursday.
Stringent lockdown restrictions are being lifted across much of Europe and the west but a number of countries have seen an “uptick” in cases, according to the WHO.
Meanwhile, officials in Brazil announced 1,473 fatalities on Thursday night, taking the South America country’s death toll to more than 34,000 – the third highest in the world behind only the US and the UK.
As of Friday morning, Brazil had confirmed over 619,000 cases of coronavirus, secondly only to the US which has reported almost 2 million infections.
Despite the seriousness of the outbreak, President Jair Bolsonaro has continued to downplay the dangers associated with disease and has urged people to get back to work.
South America is now considered the epicentre of the pandemic. On Wednesday, Mexico reported its record daily number of deaths after logging more than1,000 fatalities.
Despite rising numbers of deaths and cases, much of the continent is preparing to open against the advice of medical experts.
WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris urged world leaders against complacency in the battle against the pandemic.
“On upticks, yes we have seen in countries around the world – I’m not talking specifically about Europe – when the lockdowns ease, when the social distancing measures ease, people sometimes interpret this as ‘OK, it’s over’,” she told a United Nations briefing in Geneva.
“It’s not over. It’s not over until there is no virus anywhere in the world,” she said, adding that U.S. protesters must also take precautions when gathering.
Demonstrations have broken out across the US to protest against the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd and wider issues around racial inequalities.
Thousands of demonstrators have been cramming into streets and public spaces in cities across the country, raising concerns over social distancing measures.
On Friday, two police officers were suspended without pay after video footage showed them appearing to push and elderly man to the ground during a protest in Buffalo, New York.
Video of the incident shows the 75-year-old man approached by a line of police in riot gear and speaking to them.
As police shout “move back”, one officer can be seen striking his baton at the man while another pushes him with his hand.
The man stumbles backwards to the ground with an audible thud and blood can be seen pouring from his head onto the pavement.
The victim was said to be in a serious but stable condition in hospital overnight.
Buffalo mayor Byron Brown said he was “deeply disturbed by the video”. He added that police commissioner Bryon Lockwood had directed an “immediate investigation”.
Additional reporting by Reuters
