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Peru more than doubles its official Covid-19 death toll
Peru has more than doubled its official death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic following a government review of the figures, leaving the country with the highest coronavirus-related death rate per capita in the world.
Its Prime Minister Violeta Bermudez told a press conference that the figure was changed from 69,342 on Sunday to 180,764 on Monday following advice from a panel of Peruvian and international experts, and it covers coronavirus-related deaths between March 1, 2020 to May 21, 2021. “It [is] our duty to make the updated information public, not only as part of our commitment to transparency, but also to comply with our obligations as a state,” Bermudez added.
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN): Laos has the second worst record of all Asean countries with regard to smoking-related deaths, even though health officials have worked to raise public awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco.
Deaths, where tobacco is considered to be the main contributor, are estimated at 4,807 per year on average or 13 people per day, while every year tobacco kills at least 8 million people around the world.
Millions more live with lung cancer, tuberculosis, asthma, or chronic lung diseases caused by tobacco. Healthy lungs are essential for living a healthy, productive, and active life.
The widespread use of tobacco means that a very large number of people are exposed to serious health risks, with effective tobacco control being the only way to reduce these risks and better protect our health, the Lao Framework Convention on Tobacco Control states.
If the government does not become a legitimate and accessible source of support for people who want to stop smoking, it risks the tobacco industry taking over this role.