Number in extreme poverty rising
WASHINGTON: The coronavirus pandemic could push as many as 150 million people into extreme poverty by the end of 2021, wiping out more than three years of progress in poverty reduction, the World Bank said yesterday.
Releasing its flagship biennial report on poverty and shared prosperity, the multilateral development lender said that an additional 88 million to 115 million people will fall into extreme poverty — defined as living on less than $US1.90 a day ($NZ2.88) a day — in 2020.
The report said this could grow to 150 million by the end of 2021.
That would mean that 9.1%9.4% of the world’s population would be living under extreme poverty this year, representing the first rise in the extreme poverty percentage in about 20 years.
The 2019 extreme poverty rate was estimated at about 8.4% and had been expected to drop to 7.5% by 2021 before the coronavirus pandemic.
‘‘The pandemic and global recession may cause over 1.4% of the world’s population to fall into extreme poverty,’’ World Bank president David Malpass said, calling it a ‘‘serious setback to development progress and poverty reduction’’.
The World Bank report found increasing numbers of urban dwellers had been thrown into extreme poverty as jobs dried up from coronavirus lockdowns and reduced demand.
France yesterday reported a second daily record of new Covid19 infections in five days, with almost 19,000 additional cases over 24 hours, while hospitalisations for the disease stood at a threemonth high.
French President Emmanuel Macron flagged new restrictions to contain the pandemic, on top of measures already put in place by the Government, such as bars being ordered to close at 10pm in major cities.
Germany yesterday recorded more than 4000 coronavirus cases in 24 hours, a jump of more than 1200 on the previous day.
Numbers released by the Robert Koch Institute showed 4058 new infections were reported, up from 2828 the day before.
Italy yesterday made it mandatory to wear face masks outdoors nationwide in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as new infections jumped to the highest daily tally since April.
The decree was approved at a cabinet meeting after a steady increase in cases over the last two months. Data from the Health Ministry showed 3678 cases were reported in the past 24 hours, up from 2677 on Wednesday and surging past the 3000 mark for the first time since April 24.
The spread of Covid19 and its associated surge in hospitalisations would create a ‘‘very significant challenge’’ for Irish society, a leading public health official said yesterday.
On Tuesday the Irish Government banned indoor restaurant dining across the country and limited the number of visitors to people’s homes to try to curb the accelerating second wave of coronavirus infections.
‘‘Unless there is a very, very significant reduction in the levels of viral transmission over the coming weeks, we will see case numbers and hospitalisations that will be a very significant challenge for us as a society,’’ the National Public Health Emergency Team’s Philip Nolan said.
Brazil passed the mark of 5 million confirmed Covid19 cases as it approached 150,000 deaths in the secondmost deathly coronavirus outbreak outside the United States.
Public health experts warn that Brazil is ignoring social distancing precautions and faces the danger of a second wave by returning to everyday life too quickly. — Reuters