COVID-19: Worldwide death toll exceeds 250,000, as community leaders in Brazil beg WHO for help

The total figure of deaths recorded globally due to COVID-19 infections has exceeded 251,059 people, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The number of confirmed cases exceeds 3.5 million, while nearly 1.2 million people have recovered.

Researchers at the University of Washington have nearly doubled their forecast for deaths in the US as lockdowns are eased.

Meanwhile, indigenous leaders in Brazil have asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to set up an emergency fund to help protect their communities from COVID-19.

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In a letter to WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, they asked for help to provide personal protective equipment that is unavailable to health workers in tribal reservations and villages.

“It is a real emergency,” Joenia Wapichana, the leader of the appeal to the WHO and the first Indigenous woman elected to Brazil’s Congress, told Reuters.

“Indigenous people are vulnerable and have no protection.” Joenia added.

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