The pandemic total has topped 29 million cases, amid warnings of two tough months ahead for Europe and a new harsh assessment on the world's response to COVID-19 from an expert group that monitors preparedness, according to a news report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota.
The current global total is over 29 million cases, and more than 925,000 people have died from their infections, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard.
In its second annual report, an independent board established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank to track the global outbreak and emergency preparedness had a harsh assessment of how the world has responded to the COVID-19 threat, calling it a "collective failure" to prepare for such an event.
The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board said the virus has taken advantage of world in disorder, which has brought broad catastrophic consequences and irreparable harm. "It would take 500 years to spend on preparedness as the world is currently losing due to COVID-19," the group said in a statement. "The world cannot afford this cycle of panic and neglect."
Leaders in many countries struggled to take early action, based on science, evidence, and best practices, the report said, adding that the lack of accountability has triggered a profound and deepening lack of trust that is an obstacle to response actions. The group published its first report just three months before SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in China, which called out a cycle of panic and neglect when it comes to pandemics and recommended seven urgent actions to boost global preparedness.
