Wrap of the Week: 2020-05-29
World
Friday means a look back at a week of predictions for the coronavirus spread across the world. Which countries are seeing a rise in cases? Which countries have now declared themselves corona-free? Keep reading for the weekly wrap and updated predictions of areas most at risk from the global pandemic of COVID-19.
Overall the coronavirus pandemic’s pace is quickening worldwide, with nearly 700,000 new infections reported in the last week, many in Latin America and the Gulf States. On the flip side though cases are decreasing in France, Italy, Spain and the Uk after outbreaks left them with a total of more than 126,000 deaths.
Our global maps show predictions that case numbers are still set to rise higher in Pakistan. The country is actually currently considering the imposition of another countrywide lockdown should the situation get any worse. However, this suggestion may already be irrelevant as the utility of a lockdown was highest when the crisis was in its early stages and confined to Pakistan’s urban areas. But the virus has now spread all corners of the country and their hospitals are already above capacity and turning away patients.
A positive nugget of gold within the media is the announcement that Montenegro is the first European country to be declared corona free! It’s borders will be opened to visitors from countries with fewer than 25 active Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents on June 1. There has been 20 days without any new cases arising in the country and to celebrate the announcement the prime minister, Markovic, started the news conference by taking off his mask.
USA
Alabama has been at the top of the predictions for America since Monday and this has prove to be all too accurate. The state has hit an all-time high this week in its seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases. New cases topped 400 on Thursday for the fifth time in the last seven days, with 700 new cases on Tuesday 26th alone. Restaurants, bars and entertainment venues were allowed to open on May 11, but that reopening has been followed by a steady rise in new cases.
Countrywide the death toll has hit a grim milestone and surpassed 100,000 - far higher than any other nation. The total matches the US fatalities int he 1968 flu pandemic, and it is approaching the 116,000 killed i another flu outbreak a decade before that.
In other slightly unrelated but amusing news, President Trump has signed an executive order to crack down on social media sites after being angered by Twitter’s moves to fact check him. Wether he actually has the authority to revise the relevant law, which congress passed in 1996, is unclear.
South America
Brazil still sits at the top of the list of the South America predictions for yet another week, and our predictions are once again proving all too accurate.
The country reported 26,417 new cases on Thursday which is a record high for the country. The nation wide total now is 438,238 cases with 1,156 deaths in the last 24 hours alone, raising the overall death toll to 26,754. Thursday marked the third day in a row this week that Brazil had recorded more than 1,000 deaths in a day.
Chile has been predicted as 5th most at risk in Central and Southern America this week and apparently the pandemic has pushed Chile’s healthcare system “very close to the limit”, according to President Sebastián Piñera. The Capital Santiago is under strict lockdown but even still with 890 deaths and counting, he health system is under a lot of pressure.
Africa
The predictions this week for Africa have remained very consistent and Egypt is still at the top. On Thursday the country reported 1,127 more cases which marked the highest daily figure yet. On top of this, outcry amoung medical staff is persisting due to the inability of the country’s health infrastructure to cope with the accelerating infection rate amoung doctors as well as the inaction of the Health Ministry to perform its duty to protect doctors.
We are sending our thoughts to those in high risk areas, please take care.
Sources
https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/pakistan-plans-another-covid-19-lockdown-will-it-work/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/montenegro-june-reopening-coronavirus/
https://www.al.com/news/2020/05/alabama-coronavirus-cases-surge-to-new-high-as-state-reopens.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52793940
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/health/egypt-records-highest-daily-coronavirus-cases/1856939