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Charities gather to remember those lost during coronavirus pandemic

The pandemic has taken more than 3.7 million lives globally.

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People at a coronavirus vigil in Falmouth

A vigil has been held on the first night of the G7 Summit to mark the lives lost during the coronavirus pandemic.

Around 30 people gathered near Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, to remember the the 3.7 million people who have died during the outbreak.

On the ground the figure “3,700,000” was created from cut out pieces of wood and lined with electronic tea lights.

The mourners gave readings, added more tea lights to the display and stood in silence for a few moments to remember those who died.

The vigil was arranged by a coalition of 75 charities called Crack the Crises.

More than 3.7 million people have died with coronavirus
More than 3.7 million people have died with coronavirus (Aaron Chown/PA)

Edwin Ikhuoria, 47, is the African executive director for The One Campaign, a charity which was involved with the organisation of the event.

He described the vigil as “solemn and surreal”.

“The main idea is that there are 3.7 million people who have lost their lives from the pandemic. They are not just a number, they are human beings,” he told the PA news agency.

“We want to call attention to the fact that the pandemic cannot go on for any longer as lives are going to continue to be lost.

“We want leaders of the richest countries on Earth to realise the longer this pandemic lasts, the more lives will be lost. They need to act urgently to stop it.”

Kirsty McNeill, 41, a spokesperson for Crack the Crises, told PA: “It was important for us to remember the people who died from coronavirus at the end of the day, particularly as members of the G7 have not shown the ambition necessary to make sure more people don’t lose their lives.

“We’re calling for the G7 to share patents, share the doses urgently, by the end of this summer, and we need them to share the bill.

“We’ve estimated it costs between 50 and 66 billion dollars to vaccinate the world, that is what they’ve said they want to do, so in the next 24 hours we need a global vaccine financing plan.”

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