Releasing new statistics, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated that 40 per cent of the global population, or circa three billion people, do not possess home hand-washing facilities, despite soap and water being vital in combating COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.[15] The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the ILO in a new report focusing on the pandemic highlighted that over half of the people in the Asia-Pacific region do not have any social safety net, causing ill-health, inequality, poverty, and social exclusion.[16] The WHO announced COVID-19 has become the fifth highest cause of death in Europe, with nearly 700,000 cases being reported in the week, the highest rate since March.[17]