COVID-19: Over 7,000 Health Workers Killed Globally – Amnesty International
(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 10, 2020, health workers takes nasal swab test samples from essential workers to detect the COVID-19 novel coronavirus before the workers return to work in Singapore. - Singapore plunged into recession in the second quarter as growth fell 41.2 percent quarter-on-quarter with the trade-dependent economy hammered by the coronavirus, preliminary data showed on July 14. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
In this file photo taken on June 10, 2020, health workers take nasal swab test samples from essential workers to detect the COVID-19 before the workers return to work in Singapore. Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
At least 7,000 health workers worldwide have died after being infected with the coronavirus, including more than 1,300 in Mexico alone, the most for any country, Amnesty International said Thursday.
“Every health worker has the right to be safe at work, and it is a scandal that so many are paying the ultimate price,” said Steve Cockburn, head of economic and social justice at the London-based rights group.
“Many months into the pandemic, health workers are still dying at horrific rates in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and the USA, while the rapid spread of infections in South Africa and India show the need for all states to take action.”
At least 1,320 health workers are confirmed to have died from Covid-19 in Mexico, a “staggering” cost of human life, Amnesty said.
Other hard-hit countries include the United States with 1,077 deaths among health workers, the United Kingdom with 649, Brazil with 634, Russia with 631, and India with 573.
Even these figures are likely to be “a significant underestimate,” as deaths may not have been officially registered in many countries, Amnesty said.
File photo: Healthcare workers prepare to move a COVID-19 coronavirus patient at the Intensive Unit Care of the Povisa Hospital in Vigo, northwestern Spain, on April 16, 2020. MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP
Mexico, which has one of the world’s highest overall fatality tolls from the coronavirus, has kept a detailed record of health worker deaths which may partly explain its high figure, Amnesty said.
The Latin American nation has reported 97,632 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among health workers, among a total of more than 610,000.
“There have been reports that hospital cleaners in Mexico are especially vulnerable to infection,” Amnesty said, noting that outsourcing means such workers have less protection.
The Mexican government has recognized that the health system has suffered from decades of neglect but says it is working to improve standards.
The country of 128.8 million has officially registered more than 65,000 deaths from the coronavirus, out of a total of more than 860,000 worldwide.
In countries including India, Brazil, and South Africa, health workers have complained about shortages of personal protective equipment and broader working conditions, Amnesty said.
“Throughout the pandemic, governments have hailed health workers as heroes, but this rings hollow when so many workers are dying from a lack of basic protection,” Cockburn said.