COVID-19 CASE COUNT CLIMBS
3 HORROR STORIES AND LESSONS INDIA CAN TAKE AWAY
ITALY 7,375 cases; 366 deaths
Early in February, a 38-year-old man, called Mattia by the Italian press, contracts the new coronavirus disease. He did not travel to China, but he is believed to have come in contact with an infected person who returned from that country
On February 16, he visits a hospital in Codogno after flu-like symptoms. Mattia is told to go home and rest. No test is performed
On February 18, he visits the hospital again. While at home and travelling since early February, he comes in contact with family, friends, public and medical professionals. He is again released from the hospital without any test n On February 19, his pregnant wife takes him to the hospital again. She tells doctors Mattia may have been in contact with a person back from China n On February 20, despite the China information being brought up, hospital staffers waste 36 hours before taking samples for a test n On February 21, his health worsens further. Mattia is confirmed as a case and leaves his pregnant wife, a friend, two doctors, six other medical staff, three people who were at a pub with him and a 77-year-old infected. The 77-year-old eventually dies of the disease
IRAN 7,161 cases; 237 deaths
According to The New York Times, even as the WHO said the outbreak was a “public health emergency” late in January, Iran appeared completely unprepared and may have remained unwilling to publicly address fears over the disease to ensure a high voter turnout in the February 21 parliamentary elections
Iran and China maintain close ties and businessmen frequently travel to China for work. Despite the alarming spread of the virus in China, Iran did not immediately halt flights to China or take precaution
On February 27, the head of the WHO emergencies programme, Mike Ryan, said that Iran may be dealing with an outbreak that is worse than yet understood n Several doctors have told media organisations that the illness was circulating for days before it was announced. “We had many patients with the same symptoms. But they were treated with flu medicine and sent home,” a doctor told Reuters
SOUTH KOREA 7,478 cases; 53 deaths
South Korean PM Chung Sye-kyun has accepted that efforts to stop the deadly disease from taking hold in the country have failed. He said that while the government initially focused on stopping the disease from coming in from other countries, authorities are now trying to contain the infection from spreading locally
At the centre of the South Korea’s failed efforts is a Christian sect that refused to cooperate with efforts to stop the disease. Hundreds of cases are linked to a branch of the church in Daegu, where a person who tested positive attended services
Many have blamed the church’s secretive nature and tightly packed conditions at services for the large number of cases linked to it