More than 3 million healthcare workers in the world have been infected with COVID-19

More than three million health workers have been infected with COVID-19, which represents 10% of almost 30 million cases registered on the planet, according to a study presented this Wednesday by the International Council of Nursing (ICN, in its acronym in English), which asks governments for greater security for the sector.

Also, the report indicates, at least a thousand male and female nurses have died in 44 countries, a figure that may be much higher given the lack of data in numerous health networks.

The ICN, which coordinates various national organizations of nursing professionals and has surveyed the main concerns of the sector during the pandemic, denounces in the text that many governments do not prioritize the prevention of health workers in their fight against COVID-19.

This is seen, precisely, in the lack of data on infections among health professionals in many countries, but also in the difficulty of accessing protective equipment, diagnostic tests, or training in the fight against the coronavirus.

The International Disease Council also denounces cases of discrimination or attacks against these workers and regrets that in more than half of the countries studied, COVID-19 does not have the status of an occupational disease, which implies greater difficulty in accessing compensation.

In case of the death of the worker.

The report "offers a heartbreaking photograph of how nurses and other healthcare workers are still exposed to COVID-19 and its associated risks," ICN President Annette Kennedy said in a statement.

Those risks include "violence, prejudice, mental problems and, ultimately, the sacrifice of their lives," she concluded.