By Asmau Ahmad
The coronavirus pandemic led to the deaths of around 14.9 million people globally in the past two years, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.
WHO said that the figures include people who died from a COVID-19 infection as well as those with illnesses and injuries that passed away because of stretched health services and lockdowns.
The overall death figure now for those dying with or of coronavirus is more than 6.2 million, the WHO said in reference to numbers sent to the organisation from member nations.
WHO is calling for more investment in global healthcare, so that life-saving treatment is not put off during crises such as pandemics.
The United States Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation came to a similar conclusion to WHO, with an estimate of 15.4 million deaths linked to the coronavirus pandemic up to the end of 2021.
WHO experts said that many deaths were prevented because of COVID-19 restrictions.
This includes fewer road and work accidents because many people stayed at home during lockdowns.
