At least 600 journalists died for COVID-19 worldwide last year

At least 602 media professionals worldwide died as a result of COVID-19, more than half of them (303) in Latin America, the NGO Emblem Press Campaign (PEC) reported today.

The organization warned that the actual number of victims in the sector is certainly higher, as sometimes the cause of death was not specified or the deaths were not announced, and in some countries there is no reliable information.

The organisation, which regularly documents attacks on journalists around the world but also monitored the incidence of the pandemic in the sector in 2020, called for media workers to have priority access to vaccines if they request them.

"Because of their profession, journalists who take to the streets to report are, in fact, particularly exposed to the virus. Some of them, especially freelancers and photographers, cannot simply work from home", stressed SGP Secretary General Blaise Lempen in a statement.

PEC lamented the number of preventable deaths and called for financial assistance from the families of the deceased journalists, where necessary.

By country, Peru was the country where the highest number of media professionals killed by COVID-19 was reported (93), followed by Brazil (55), India (53) and Mexico (45).

In Europe, Italy recorded a disproportionately higher number than its neighbours, with 37 journalists killed during the pandemic.

In France and Spain five and six journalists have died respectively due to COVID-19 since March 2020, according to PEC data.