Europe has recorded more than a million deaths from COVID-19 since the discovery of the coronavirus in China in December 2019, according to a count made by AFP from reports provided by health authorities on Monday.
The 52 countries and territories in the region account for at least 1,000,288 deaths for 46,496,560 cases. Latin America and the Caribbean are next with 832,577 deaths and 26,261,006 cases, the United States and Canada with 585,428 deaths and 32,269,104 cases.
Asia follows, with 285,824 deaths and 19,656,223 cases, the Middle East with 119,104 deaths and 7,011,552 cases, Africa with 115,779 deaths and 4,354,663 cases and finally Oceania with 1,006 deaths. and 40,348 cases.
According to the latest reports available, nearly six out of 10 deaths in Europe have been declared in six countries: in the United Kingdom (127,100 deaths, 4,373,343 cases), in Italy (114,612 deaths, 3,779,594 cases), in Russia (103,263 deaths, 4,649,710 cases), France (99,163 deaths, 5,067,216 cases), Germany (78,452 deaths, 3,011,513 cases) and Spain (76,525 deaths, 3,370,256 cases) .
However, the trends are quite different within this group of countries. The United Kingdom, after recording up to 8,700 deaths in one week at the end of January, has seen the epidemic decline sharply (238 deaths in the last seven days). The country has massively vaccinated since the beginning of December: some 60% of the adult population has already received a first dose of vaccine. Other countries like Italy (3,200 deaths since last Tuesday), Russia (2,500) or France (2,200) are facing a third wave.
The figures compiled by AFP are based on reports published daily by the health authorities in each country. They are a partial estimate of the actual number of deaths, as statistical agencies in several countries have subsequently concluded that an even greater number of deaths can be attributed to COVID-19.
Europe had passed the threshold of half a million dead on December 17, eleven months after the announcement of the first death in China in January 2020. Some 500,000 other people were swept away in less than four months.
Since the end of March, the death curve has stabilized. Europe recorded 27,036 deaths last week, an average of 3,900 per day, figures well below those of the deadliest week on the continent. Between January 14 and 20, 2021, 40,178 deaths had been recorded, or about 5,700 per day.
As a proportion of the population, the most affected countries in the world are European: the Czech Republic is the country which deplores the highest number of deaths with 261 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Hungary (245) and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Herzegovina (228).
The deaths recorded in Europe (900 million inhabitants, or one ninth of the world population) represent more than a third of the 2.94 million victims of the pandemic recorded worldwide, for more than 136 million cases diagnosed since the start of the pandemic, according to the AFP count.