'There is no end in sight to coronavirus, loss of jobs and disruption of education' - UN Secretary General warns

 

The head of the UN has warned 'there is no end in sight' to coronavirus after the number of global fatalities hit the 'mind-numbing' level of one million.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called it 'an agonising milestone,' in a statement released after the world - with more than 33 million cases - reached a million deaths. 

He warned 'there is no end in sight to the spread of the virus, the loss of jobs, the disruption of education, the upheaval to our lives.' 

The United States has recorded the most deaths with more than 200,000, followed by Brazil, more than 142,000; India, 96,000; Mexico, 76,000; and the United Kingdom, 42,090.  

Guterres added: 

It's a mind-numbing figure. Yet we must never lose sight of each and every individual life. They were fathers and mothers, wives and husbands, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues.

The pain has been multiplied by the savageness of this disease. Risks of infection kept families from bedsides. And the process of mourning and celebrating a life was often made impossible.

Still he said he said the pandemic could be overcome with responsible leadership, cooperation and science, as well as precautions such as social distancing and wearing face masks. He said any vaccine must be 'available and affordable to all.'