Breathtaking virus numbers show normal life still far away

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa on Saturday became one of the top five worst-hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic, as breathtaking new infection numbers around the world were a reminder that a return to normal life is still far from sight. “The simple fact is that many South Africans are sitting ducks because they cannot comply with World Health Organization protocols on improved hygiene and social distancing,” the foundation of former South African archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah, warned in a statement. The world on Saturday marked Mandela Day, remembering Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first Black president — another Nobel Peace Prize winner — and his legacy of fighting inequality. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who delivered the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, said that “COVID-19 has been likened to an X-ray, revealing fractures in the fragile skeleton of the societies we have built,” adding that developed countries have “failed to deliver the support needed to help the developing world through these dangerous times.” Confirmed virus cases worldwide have topped 14.1 million and deaths rose above 600,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data.