As of 7^th September, the total global figure for cases of Covid-19 stood at 606 million according to Johns Hopkins University.

In addition to this, the recorded number who have died totalled 6,506,262

67.7% of the world population has received at least one dose of a vaccine and 12.2 billion doses have been administered globally.  Only 21% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.  

The following table charts the worldwide 7-day average of cases over the course of the pandemic.

Data on a county by country level can be found here.  

More than 10.5 million children have lost one or both parents during the coronavirus pandemic — nearly double the previous estimates — according to new data. Southeast Asia and Africa suffered the greatest rate of losses, with one out of every 50 children affected compared with one out of 150 children in the Americas, according to the research letter published in JAMA Paediatrics.  Among the countries with the highest rates of parent and caregiver deaths are Bolivia, Peru, Namibia, Egypt, Bulgaria, South Africa, Ecuador, Eswatini, Botswana and Guyana, the analysis found. Before the pandemic, there were an estimated 140 million orphaned children worldwide.

Lead author Susan Hillis, a former CDC epidemiologist who is now at the University of Oxford, called the findings “sobering” and urged world leaders to prioritise orphaned children by providing economic, educational and mental health support.  In their letter, she and her co-authors wrote that “while billions of dollars are invested in preventing COVID-19-associated deaths, little is being done to care for children left behind.”  The consequences for children can be “devastating,” including institutionalisation, abuse, traumatic grief, mental health problems, adolescent pregnancy, poor educational outcomes, and chronic and infectious diseases, they wrote.

Only a small number of countries, including the United States, have made national commitments to addressing the effects of orphanhood associated with covid. The White House under President Biden has released a memorandum promising that affected families would be able to access support programs and “connect to resources they may need to help with their healing, health, and well-being.”

Pray:

For divine intervention and for God's name to be glorified even as each nation and government tries its best to vaccinate, prevent or control the emergence of new waves of infection. (1 Peter 4:16)

For all children whose lives have been irevesibly changed by the loss of a parent or caregiver through covid. (James 1:27)

That individuals, leaders and nations continue to focus on the needs of others rather than themselves, and that co-operation and compassion lie at the heart of the world’s response to the crisis.  (Proverbs 16:12)

We continue to release faith, hope, and love over the peoples of the world. May the Church seize this opportune time to manifest Jesus our Lord and Saviour to those who are seeking answers and purpose.