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Dozens of journalists have died worldwide from the novel coronavirus in the past two months, a press freedom organisation said Friday, lamenting that media workers often lack proper protection for covering the pandemic.

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day tomorrow (Sunday), the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) warned that many journalists were putting themselves in harm´s way to report on the global crisis, with many falling ill from COVID-19 themselves in the process.

Since March 1, the PEC said it had recorded thedeaths of 55 media workers across 23 countries from the virus, although it stressed that it remained unclear if all of them had become infected on the job.

"Journalists are at great risk in this health crisis because they must continue to inform, by going to hospitals, interviewing doctors, nurses, political leaders, specialists, scientists, patients," PEC said in a statement.

It said that in a range of countries "indispensable protective measures" like physical distancing, quarantines and mask wearing had not been applied, especially early on in the outbreak.