The global death toll from Covid-19 topped 5 million on Monday, less than two years into a crisis that has not only devastated poor countries but also humbled wealthy ones with first-rate health care systems. Together, the US, the European Union, Britain and Brazil – all upper-middle- or high-income countries – account for one-eighth of the world’s population but nearly half of all reported deaths.

The US alone has recorded over 740,000 lives lost, more than any other nation.

The death toll, as tallied by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the populations of Los Angeles and San Francisco combined.

It rivals the number of people killed in battles among nations since 1950, according to estimates from the Peace Research Institute Oslo.

Globally, Covid-19 is now the third leading cause of death, after heart disease and stroke.

Russian region extends off-work order

Authorities in Russia’s Novgorod region on Monday ordered most residents to stay off work for one more week starting November 8 as infections and deaths remained at all-time highs.

The Novgorod region was the first to extend the nationwide non-working period between October 30 and November 7 that was ordered by President Vladimir Putin.

Russia’s state coronavirus task force on Monday reported more than 40,000 new confirmed cases for the third straight day and more than 1,100 deaths for the seventh day in a row – the highest levels in each category since the start of the pandemic.

Putin has said that governments in regions where the situation is the most dire could start the non-working days earlier and extend them if needed.

Meanwhile, about 9,000 municipal workers were put on unpaid leave for refusing to comply with a vaccine mandate that took effect on Monday, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio said.