COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 22 June

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

2. Study shows women in India more likely to die of COVID-19

Globally, men are more at risk of dying from COVID-19, according to data from Italy, the US and China.

But in India, although more men are infected with the virus, the risk is of death is greater among women, according to a new study in the Journal of Global Health Science.

As of 20 May, the case-fatality ratio (the number of people who die compared to those infected) for men was estimated at 2.9% and 3.3% for women.

In particular, the risk of mortality for women was higher among three age groups: 5–19 years, 30–39 years, and 40–49 years.

Poor nutrition could play a role in the gender difference, as the authors note: "A significant proportion of women in the age group 15–49 years are undernourished and this also leaves them vulnerable to an elevated risk of COVID-19 infection and severe outcomes."

They said the gendered impacts of COVID-19 outbreak in India "needed to be effectively analysed for potential public health and policy inferences".

The study was based on estimates because it used crowdsourced data, which the authors said had considerable gaps in reporting of age-sex specific information.

Confirmed cases have passed 425,000 in India, with deaths standing at more than 13,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

3. Seafarers: Organizations work together to solve 'humanitarian' crisis

A series of meetings are starting in Geneva today (22 June) to urgently address the plight of seafarers, the world's forgotten key workers who have been stuck at sea for months.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), heads of business, government ministers and workers’ representatives will try to chart a way through the crisis before it impacts on the global supply system.

Since the coronavirus crisis began, as many as 1 in 6 of the 1 million crew on 60,000 cargo ships at sea have been marooned. Crew changes were suspended in March as a short-term solution to avoid disruption to the supply system.

The men and women still working on board are unable to disembark, with border closures, grounded aircraft and travel restrictions all preventing them from returning to their home country and families.

“Taking care of the people who move our goods and enable trade leads to job creation. This is central to securing lives and livelihoods,” says Margi Van Gogh, the Forum’s Head of Supply Chain and Transport Industries, who is coordinating the Industry Action Group with a cohort of CEOs.

“Cohesive global leadership from public, private and civil society leaders is necessary to solve this deepening crisis. Cohesive leadership is also vital for the ‘Great Reset’, enabling us to build back better – a sustainable global supply system is at the heart of this.”