DAVID GREENE, HOST:
COVID-19 has now killed more than a million people globally. The coronavirus has spread to nearly every corner of the world and is quickly becoming one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases.
ASHISH JHA: The fact that a million people have already died from this disease, which is largely preventable, really is a testament to the failure of public health in so many places around the world and is a tragedy.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
That's Dr. Ashish Jha. He's the dean of Brown University's School of Public Health. He has this warning as infection rates escalate in countries with high population densities like India.
JHA: While it has taken us about nine months to get to a million deaths, I wouldn't be surprised if we get another million in the next three to six months.
MARTIN: But Dr. Jha says there's still time for all countries to act and save lives.
JHA: You don't have to be a wealthy country. Some of the biggest deaths have come in the United States, which is a wealthy country. And some of the best and biggest successes have come in poorer countries like Rwanda and Vietnam. And what I hope as we reach this milestone is that the world will learn lessons from the successful countries and try to apply them more broadly so we can save lives and prevent more suffering. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.