At Least 7,000 Health Workers Died Globally After Contracting COVID-19 - Watchdog

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd September, 2020) At least 7,000 health workers have died across the globe after contracting COVID-19 while treating patients, a prominent international watchdog said on Thursday.

"For over seven thousand people to die while trying to save others is a crisis on a staggering scale. Every health worker has the right to be safe at work, and it is a scandal that so many are paying the ultimate price," Steve Cockbum, the head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International said as quoted in a press release.

According to the watchdog, high numbers of health workers deaths were recorded in Mexico (1,320), the United States (1,077), Russia (634), Brazil (634), India (573), South Africa (240) and other states where infection and death rates have been high throughout the pandemic.

"There must be global cooperation to ensure all health workers are provided with adequate protective equipment, so they can continue their vital work without risking their own lives," Cockbum added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed a total of 25.6 million COVID-19 cases in 216 countries and areas, including 852,758 fatalities.