Confirmed Global COVID-19 Death Toll Passes 400K; Worldwide Protests Fueled By Death Of George Floyd, Pandemic’s Impact On Black Communities Pose Dilemmas For Disease Control, Experts Warn; Testing Spending Criticized
AP: World reaches 400,000 virus deaths as pope urges caution
“The confirmed global death toll from the COVID-19 virus reached at least 400,000 fatalities on Sunday … Worldwide, at least 6.9 million people have been infected by the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University, whose aggregated tally has become the main worldwide reference for monitoring the disease. … Health experts, however, believe that the John Hopkins tally falls short of showing the true tragedy of the pandemic…” (Wilson, 6/7).
Financial Times: Testing funds shortfall imperils Covid-19 fight, health groups warn
“Donors have come under fire for giving coronavirus testing less than 3 percent from a €10bn global emergency response fund, as healthcare groups warn that ignoring diagnostics threatens to undermine efforts to contain the pandemic. The tiny allocation from the pledges made so far to an E.U.-led international Covid-19 financial appeal falls far short of what is needed to support the rollout of potential treatments and vaccines, experts say…” (Peel, 6/8).
The Guardian: Fury at Floyd’s death ‘fueled by impact of Covid-19 on black communities’
“The outrage that has gripped many nations in the wake of the death of George Floyd is likely to have been fueled by resentment over Covid-19’s extreme impact on black communities, one of the world’s top health experts warned on Saturday. David Nabarro, professor of global health at Imperial College London, said the disease was now having a disproportionately severe impact on the most disadvantaged sections of those nations that had been the slowest to tackle the pandemic and who now have the worst infection rates. ‘Some of the anger now being expressed among people of color may be traced to the fact they have actually had to carry the brunt of this,’ said Nabarro, who is also an envoy for the World Health Organization on Covid-19…” (McKie, 6/6).
Additional coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, responses, and the potential impact of protests is available from Financial Times, New York Times, and NPR (2).
The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.