Global COVID-19 death toll surpasses 700,000

The global death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has surpassed 700,000 with the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico leading other countries across the globe.

The latest figures were obtained from the Johns Hopkins University and Reuters on Wednesday.

 According to Reuters, COVID-19 data from the past two weeks revealed that nearly 5,900 people are dying every 24 hours in various countries across the globe.

 The US and Latin America nations are the new epicenters of the pandemic and both are struggling to curb the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of state attorneys general has urged the US government to allow other companies to make Gilead Sciences’ COVID-19 treatment, Remdesivir, to increase its availability and lower the price of the antiviral drug.

The coalition of more than 30 state attorneys general implored the government to act or allow states to do so, saying in a letter to US health agencies that Gilead “has not established a reasonable price” for the antiviral drug.

“Gilead should not profit from the pandemic and it should be pushed to do more to help more people,” they said in the letter.