The US is set to become the first country with 1 million Covid deaths this week

The US is set to break another gruesome Covid record today, as cases and deaths continue to persist after two years of the pandemic.

The US is set to become the first nation to lose over 1 million people to Covid-19.

The country of 331 million rocketed ahead on global charts after the Delta strain was introduced and now sits 208 deaths shy of the grim total.

By official figures, the virus has been most deadly in the US followed by Brazil with roughly 652,000 deaths and India with over 515,000.

It comes as more than 6 million people have succumbed to the virus worldwide.

However, the number of infections and deaths continues to plummet in most regions of the world, except in Asia, where Hong Kong is suffering its worst-ever outbreak, and Oceania, where New Zealand has recorded a jump in cases.

Average global daily deaths fell to 7,170 in early March, continuing a trend seen since the peak of the Omicron wave in mid-February despite many countries relaxing restrictions.

The country of 331 million rocketed ahead on global charts after the Delta strain was introduced and now sits 208 deaths shy of the grim total.

Members of a healthcare advocacy community gathered outside the New York Stock Exchange, demanding world leaders end the international pharmaceutical industry’s monopoly grip on COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments

Protestors in New York were spotted holding signs with the number of Covid deaths in different countries during the die-in at a recent demonstration.

Members of a coalition of healthcare advocacy community organisations in New York gathered outside the New York Stock Exchange, demanding world leaders end the international pharmaceutical industry’s monopoly grip on Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments needed to save lives and prevent the next viral variant.

While much of the world is learning to live with the disease, China remains committed to stamping it out and has instructed Hong Kong to also pursue a zero-tolerance approach.

Hong Kong has launched controversial plans to test all 7.4 million residents and build a network of isolation camps. The number of weekly infections in the city has doubled in a week to 290,987 while the number of deaths has more than tripled to 1,543.

AFP’s tally is based on Covid-19 deaths reported by national health authorities.

The World Health Organisation believes that the real figure could be two to three times higher.

- with AFP