A week in the life of a world gone mad
The global number of confirmed coronavirus cases passed the 1-million mark this week, and more than 80 countries have approached the International Monetary Fund for financial assistance as economies spiral downwards. Sue de Groot compiled a look at what went down on other continents this week BRAZIL
President Jair “burn the trees” Bolsonaro made himself even less popular among Brazilian citizens when he contradicted Rio de Janeiro governor Wilson Witzel’s order banning people from beaches. “Ban people from going to the beach? My God!” said Bolsonaro. “Beaches are outdoors. There’s no problem going there at all.” Rio has 17-million inhabitants.
CHINA
Yesterday was declared a day of mourning in China, and all across the country at 10am a three-minute silence was observed in honour of those who have died due to Covid-19. In Wuhan, where 2,567 patients and medical workers are said to have died, traffic lights remained on red throughout the three minutes.
On Friday, China’s infection rate officially stood at 81,639, but the CIA believes the figures are vastly understated. According to Beijing, containment measures have been largely effective although there are still outbreaks. The state broadcaster announced this week that mass testing has so far identified 1,030 people infected with Covid-19 who have not experienced the usual symptoms. These patients are being observed and there is the possibility that the data gathered may contribute to the search for a vaccine.
Mount Everest, which would usually be swathed in climbing ropes in spring, is closed to all climbers this year except those from China, from where the mountain’s north face can be accessed. About 24 climbers will attempt the summit this month.
INDIA
National transport networks are buckling under the flood of migrant workers trying to get back to their families after India announced lockdown measures. Millions of the country’s poorer citizens work far from home.
FRANCE
A shipment of several million face masks due to be flown to France from Shanghai was effectively hijacked by US buyers, who offered the seller three times the amount paid by the French and diverted the load to the US.
Revolutionary minded denizens of France are not minded to stay at home when spring is in the air. Prime Minister Édouard Philippe has ordered 160,000 gendarmes to keep any isolation-breakers in their place during what would usually be the country’s Easter break. “The virus is not on holiday,” said Philippe.
GERMANY
German virology professor Hendrik Streeck, who hails from one of the country’s most infected areas, earned the ire of other scientists by announcing — without supporting data from any extensive, peerreviewed study — that he did not believe Covid-19 was spread in shops and hairdressers.
IRAQ
News agency Reuters has had its reporting licence revoked for three months after it reported the number of new coronavirus cases in the country was in the thousands, much higher than officially sanctioned figures. Reuters quoted three unnamed doctors along with anonymous health ministry and senior government officials as saying that thousands of people in Iraq had contracted Covid-19.
The World Health Organisation has expressed concern that the infection numbers in several Middle Eastern countries may be under-reported.
MEXICO
With police deployed elsewhere to implement antivirus measures, gang lords have been free to take out the opposition.
On Friday, the country’s health department said 60 people had died from Covid-19, out of 1,688 confirmed cases. By comparison, 2,585 murders were officially recorded in March, the highest number of monthly homicides since 1997.
The Mexican brewer of Corona beer has suspended production.
NEW ZEALAND
Health minister David Clark had to apologise to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after photographs of him mountain-biking in a park — strictly against lockdown regulations — were shared on social media.
PANAMA
In Central America, where most people live close to the poverty line in crowded conditions and rely on informal work to make a living, gender-based efforts have been made to balance the fight against coronavirus with the need to survive economically.
Following the example set by Peru — where men can leave home on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and women on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (Sunday is a gender-neutral no-go zone) — Panamanian authorities decreed that men and women could leave home to work on alternate days.
So far, nearly 500 people have been arrested for flouting the gender rule and more than 5,000 have been detained for violating curfews.
SOUTH KOREA
Initially one of the hardest-hit countries after China, the swift action taken by its government, particularly in mass testing, has made South Korea a role model of how to contain the pandemic. Yesterday, the number of infections was 10,156 with 177 deaths, according to the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. This represents a significant slowdown to 100 or fewer new cases reported daily, but health minister Park Neung-hoo said public gatherings will remain on hold and isolation measures in place until the number drops below 50.
SPAIN
The coronavirus has built a bridge between the Spanish government and separatists in Catalonia, who for many decades have been engaged in a campaign for greater autonomy. Tensions between Madrid and the regional capital, Barcelona, peaked in 2017 when the then leader of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, said he intended to declare independence after a referendum that showed support for the move. The present regional leader of Catalonia, Quim Torra, also an ardent separatist, put aside politics this week when coronavirus cases in his region reached 21,804, with 2,093 deaths, according to Thursday’s figures. Torra has requested assistance from the Spanish army to deal with the epidemic, saying he’d be most grateful for any helping hand.
SWEDEN
While most European countries have adopted strict lockdown measures, Swedes continue to roam free despite much chastisement from international health organisations.
UNITED KINGDOM
Confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK officially reached 38,168 on Friday, with 3,605 recorded deaths. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that tighter lockdown measures may be introduced as British residents have become lax. So far they can still walk their dogs while practising social distancing but this may soon change. Government advisers have recommended extending the quarantine period to the end of May.
About 200 homeless people are unofficially using empty Heathrow airport as a place of refuge.
Abandoned pets are among the few to derive some comfort from the epidemic: in London, 86 dogs and 69 cats were adopted from the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in just one week, twice the usual number, and the Dogs Trust reported that adoptions have shot up by 25%. Lonely people wanting a four-legged quarantine companion have been warned, however, that a pet is for life, not just for lockdown.
UNITED STATES
According to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, almost 50-million Americans stand to lose their jobs by the end of June, which will take the US unemployment rate to 30%.
President Donald Trump has spun around on his unicycle and now advocates the lockdown he previously railed against, ordering 75% of US citizens to stay at home. On Friday he recommended that citizens wear protective face masks, though he was quick to state he would not do likewise, because it wouldn’t be seemly to disguise his features while receiving “presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings and queens” in the Oval Office. Trump has been tested twice for coronavirus. Both tests were negative.
Meanwhile, Anthony Fauci, the infectious-diseases expert commanding US medical forces in the battle against Covid-19, has been assigned extra security personnel after receiving death threats from anonymous sources protesting against the economic pinch occasioned by lockdown measures.
Infection rates in the US were estimated at more than 150,000 this week and scientists predict that a quarter of a million Americans will die as the virus continues to spread — four times that figure if the lockdown is lifted too early.
A mobile phone data survey suggests that Democrats are taking the anti-virus measures a lot more seriously than their Trump-supporting Republican counterparts, and this is echoed in state administrations. New Orleans, Detroit and Chicago are catching up to New York City in infection numbers, but while New York state governor Andrew Cuomo and others have received universal praise for introducing drastic measures to slow down the epidemic while Trump was still in denial, governors elsewhere are less impressive.
In Florida, which has more than its fair share of elderly residents, governor Ron DeSantis did a Bolsonaro by flatly refusing to close the state’s crowded beaches during spring break. By Friday he was still allowing many businesses to remain in operation. The number of infections in Florida topped 7,000 this week.
The Walt Disney Co announced that it will begin retrenching nonessential staff on April 19.