US Covid deaths surpass 500,000
The country’s virus death toll is higher than the combined American casualties from WWI, WWII and Vietnam War
WASHINGTON/LONDON: President Joe Biden led the US to observe a moment of silence as the death toll from Covid-19 in the country crossed 500,000.
The US toll surpassed 500,500 with more than 1,300 additional fatalities reported overnight, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s tracker. Cases stood at 28.1 million, nearly 9% of the country’s population.
“Today, we mark a truly grim, heartbreaking milestone: 500,071,” Biden said on Monday. “That’s more Americans who have died in one year in this pandemic than in World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined. That’s more lives lost to this virus than any other nation on Earth.”
Biden has ordered the US flag to be flown at half-mast for the entire week. His response to the pandemic has been in marked contrast to his predecessor, Donald Trump.
“I believe that if you look back historically, we’ve done worse than most any other country and we’re a highly developed, rich country,” top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said.
The BBC reported on Tuesday that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is all set to roll out what will be called “digital Covid travel passes” in a few weeks’ time. The travel pass, according to the report, is an app that shows if a traveller meets the stated criteria to enter a country - basically whether the passenger has had the necessary coronavirus test or has taken a Covid-19 vaccine.
With governments around the world deciding to stick with restrictions for inbound travellers, the IATA is set to make the digital travel pass an essential prerequisite when the international airlines industry reopens, the report said.
In Australia, Craig Kelly, a lawmaker from PM Scott Morrison’s Liberal Party who peddled pandemic misinformation, quit the party on Tuesday, weeks after being publicly rebuked by Morrison.