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                                                                                         WORLD NEWS Tuesday 20 OcTOber 2020
            World struggles as confirmed COVID-19 cases pass 40 million




            By MARIA CHENG                                                                                                      vaccination,  not  by  delib-
            AP Medical Writer                                                                                                   erately exposing people to
            LONDON (AP) — The num-                                                                                              a potentially fatal disease.
            ber of confirmed COVID-19                                                                                           "Allowing a dangerous virus
            cases across the planet has                                                                                         that  we  don't  fully  under-
            surpassed  40  million,  but                                                                                        stand  to  run  free  is  simply
            experts say that is only the                                                                                        unethical,"  Tedros  said  last
            tip  of  the  iceberg  when  it                                                                                     week.
            comes  to  the  true  impact                                                                                        The  U.N.  health  agency
            of  the  pandemic  that  has                                                                                        said  it  hopes  there  might
            upended  life  and  work                                                                                            be enough data to deter-
            around the world.                                                                                                   mine if any of the COVID-19
            The milestone was hit Mon-                                                                                          vaccines now being tested
            day morning, according to                                                                                           are effective by the end of
            Johns  Hopkins  University,                                                                                         the year. But it warned that
            which collates reports from                                                                                         first-generation   vaccines
            around the world.                                                                                                   are  unlikely  to  provide
            The  actual  worldwide  tally                                                                                       complete  protection  and
            of  COVID-19  cases  is  likely                                                                                     that  it  could  take  at  least
            to be far higher, as testing                                                                                        two years to bring the pan-
            has  been  uneven  or  lim-                                                                                         demic under control.
            ited,  many  people  have                                                                                           Logistics  experts  also  say
            had  no  symptoms  and                                                                                              that  some  3  billion  of  the
            some  governments  have                                                                                             world's  7.8  billion  people
            concealed  the  true  num-                                                                                          live  in  areas  that  lack  the
            ber of cases. To date, more                                                                                         infrastructure  to  refriger-
            than  1.1  million  confirmed                                                                                       ate  new  vaccines  safely,
            virus deaths have been re-                                                                                          a challenge that is sure to
            ported,  although  experts                                                                                          slow  down  the  delivery  of
            also believe that number is                                                                                         vaccines  to  those  areas.
            an undercount.                                                                                                      This  includes  most  of  Cen-
            The U.S., India and Brazil are   A face mask was left behind near the Euro sculpture in Frankfurt, Germany, early Monday, Oct.   tral Asia, much of India and
            reporting by far the highest   19, 2020.                                                                            southeast Asia, Latin Amer-
            numbers  of  cases  —  8.1                                                                         Associated Press  ica  except  for  the  largest
            million,  7.5  million  and  5.2                                                                                    countries, and all but a tiny
            million  respectively  —  al-  hold  Thanksgiving  gather-  overwhelmed and warned     ing  this  kind  of  protection  corner of Africa. q
            though the global increase  ings next month.              that governments and citi-   needs  to  be  achieved  by
            in  recent  weeks  has  been  The World Health Organiza-  zens should take all neces-
            driven  by  a  surge  in  Eu-  tion said last week that Eu-  sary  measures  to  slow  the
            rope, which has seen over  rope had a reported a re-      spread of the virus, includ-
            240,000  confirmed  virus  cord weekly high of nearly  ing  bolstering  testing  and
            deaths in the pandemic so  700,000 cases and said the  contact  tracing,  wearing
            far.                         region  was  responsible  for  face  masks  and  following
            In the U.S., some states are  about a third of cases glob-  social distancing measures.
            trying more targeted mea-    ally.  Britain,  France,  Rus-  WHO  has  previously  es-
            sures  as  cases  continue  sia  and  Spain  account  for  timated  about  1  in  10  of
            to  rise  across  the  country.  about half of all new cases  the  world's  population  —
            New York's new round of vi-  in the region, and countries  about  780  million  people
            rus shutdowns zeroes in on  like Belgium and the Czech  — have been infected with
            individual  neighborhoods,  Republic  are  facing  more  COVID-19,  more  than  20
            closing  schools  and  busi-  intense   outbreaks   now  times  the  official  number
            nesses in hot spots measur-  than they did in the spring.  of cases. That suggests the
            ing just a couple of square  WHO  said  the  new  mea-    vast majority of the world's
            miles.                       sures  being  taken  across  population  is  still  suscep-
            As of last week, new cases  Europe  are  "absolutely  es-  tible to the virus.
            per day were on the rise in  sential"  in  stopping  CO-  Some  researchers  have
            44 U.S. states, with many of  VID-19  from  overwhelming  argued  that  allowing  CO-
            the  biggest  surges  in  the  its  hospitals.  Those  include  VID-19 to spread in popula-
            Midwest  and  Great  Plains,  new    requirements    on  tions that are not obviously
            where  resistance  to  wear-  mask-wearing  in  Italy  and  vulnerable  will  help  build
            ing masks and taking other  Switzerland, closing schools  up herd immunity and is a
            precautions  has  been  run-  in  Northern  Ireland  and  more  realistic  way  to  stop
            ning high and the virus has  the  Czech  Republic,  clos-  the  pandemic  instead  of
            often  been  seen  as  just  a  ing restaurants and bars in  the  restrictive  lockdowns
            big-city  problem.  Deaths  Belgium, implementing a 9  that have proved econom-
            per  day  were  climbing  in  p.m. curfew in France and  ically devastating.
            30 states.                   having  targeted  limited  But  WHO  Director-General
            Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S.  lockdowns  in  parts  of  the  Tedros   Adhanom   Ghe-
            government's  top  infec-    U.K.                         breyesus    has    warned
            tious-disease  expert,  said  The  agency  said  several  against the belief that herd
            Americans    should   think  European cities could soon  immunity might be a viable
            hard  about  whether  to  see their intensive care units  strategy  to  pursue,  say-
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