GENEVA - In one year, at least 840 journalists have died from Covid-19 in 68 countries, more than 2 per day on average, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) announced on Thursday in Geneva. This is the heaviest toll in the media community since World War II.
“The PEC deplores this large number of victims from the coronavirus and sends its condolences to families and colleagues. It is essential that now journalists can have rapid access to vaccination so that they can do their work in the field without endangering their lives”, said PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen.
“We hope that numbers, still very high in January-February, will start to drop”, he added. The total number of victims is certainly higher, as the cause of death of journalists is sometimes not specified or their death not announced. In some countries, there is no reliable information.
More than half in Latin America From March 2020 to the end of February 2021, of the 840 journalists who succumbed to the virus, more than half died in Latin America, 458 in total in 18 countries. Asia follows with 151 dead in 17 countries, ahead of Europe 147 in 16 countries, North America 45 (2 countries), and Africa 39 in 15 countries.
The strongest increase since the start of 2021 has taken place in Brazil with the death of nearly 50 journalists from the Covid-19 in two months, which can be explained by a particularly chaotic political situation. Peru remains the country with the heaviest death toll, with 108 media workers who have died from the coronavirus since March 2020.
Brazil is in second place with 102 victims, ahead of Mexico, which deplores 87 journalists who died from Covid-19. India follows with 56 dead. Italy is the most bereaved European country with 46 journalist’s deaths. Bangladesh follows with 44.
In the United States, 44 victims of Covid-19 have been counted among the media, then Ecuador 42 dead.
In Colombia, 37 journalists were killed by the virus, then Great Britain with 26 deaths, ahead of Pakistan with 23 deaths.
In Turkey, 21 deaths from the virus have been recorded. Next are Panama (16), Ukraine (14), Bolivia (also 14), Russia (13), Spain (12). Afghanistan has 9 victims as well as Argentina.
In the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nigeria, South Africa, and Venezuela 8 casualties were counted. In Egypt, France, and Nicaragua, six journalists have died in each country. Guatemala deplores 4 deaths.
Three journalists died in each of these countries: Cameroon, Iran, Morocco, Nepal, Salvador, Sweden, and Zimbabwe.
Two deaths are known in the following countries: Algeria, Cuba, Indonesia, Paraguay, and Portugal. Finally, the PEC has identified at least one death among media workers in the following 28 countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Benin, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany, Ghana, Iraq (Kurdistan), Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mozambique, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Togo, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay.
The origin of the infection is often difficult to determine, and it is not possible to differentiate journalists who have become infected at work from those who have been infected in their private lives. The PEC tally is based on information from local media, national associations of journalists and regional PEC correspondents.
