The recent declaration of the COVID-19 Coronavirus as a pandemic has caused a lot of upheaval in our daily lives. Schools have been temporarily shut, employees are working from home and individuals are largely encouraged to avoid any and all non-essential travelling. The virus has spread due to a number of reasons, but what is the real deal when it comes to surviving and dealing with this illness?
According to the World Health Organisation, currently, there are 245,730 total cases of COVID-19 worldwide, with 10,046 deaths and 88,441 recoveries as of today, March 20th. The death rate is 3.4% which means around 3.4% of the total infected people have died.
We have seen an incessant increase in the cases of the Coronavirus globally as well as back home in India. Let’s deep dive into each of these countries and see where they stand.
(Please note: all the data is relevant as of March 18th, 2020)
India
Total Cases: 195
Total Deaths: 4
Updates:
- The total number of individuals who have tested positive for coronavirus includes 32 foreign nationals.
- India’s 4th coronavirus victim was a 70-year-old man from Punjab, who just returned from a two-week trip to Germany via Italy.
- PM Modi addressed the nation and emphasised on the gravity of the virus. He urged the citizens to practice social distancing, stay at home, do not panic buy. He also declared Sunday 22nd March as Janta Day, a curfew is in place to avoid people from leaving their homes from 9 am to 7 pm. At 5 pm, he requests everyone to stand at their windows and clap for all the brave doctors, policemen, nurses etc who are risking their lives every day.
The United States Of America
Total Cases: 14,340
Total Deaths: 217
Updates:
- The sunny state of California, home to more than 39 million people, was placed under lockdown yesterday.
- President Trump cancelled the G-7 summit programmed for June at Camp David and has decided to hold the meeting by videoconference.
China
Total Cases: 80,967
Total Deaths:3,248
Updates:
- In more good news, China records no new case for the second day in a row.
Italy
Total Cases:41,035
Total Deaths:3,405
Updates:
- With 60 million citizens, Italy recorded a total of at least 3,405 deaths surpassing the deaths in China (a country of 1.3 billion).
- Last night, all the Catholics worldwide prayed with the Pope, where he invited all Italian Catholics to say the rosary in their homes starting at 9 p.m. and to put a lighted candle in their windows in a sign of national unity.
Iran
Total Cases:18,407
Total Deaths: 1,284
Updates:
- Iran pleads for the USA to lift sanctions against the country rapidly, so it can import medicine and medical equipment urgently required to fight the pandemic.
- The Persian New Year, or Nowruz, has been transformed this year due to the COVID-19.
Spain
Total Cases: 18,077
Total Deaths: 831
Updates:
- Spain orders closure of all hotels due to the fast-spreading virus.
- Eight out of ten people in Madrid are predicted to suffer from COVID-19, according to the president of the Region of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
- Over 200 deaths in the country in just one day.