5 things to know about the pandemic

4years ago

World news, World news.

Coronavirus, which appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan last December, has taken at least 103,000 lives and infected over 1,6 million people globally, as Johns Hopkins University shared.

Below are 5 things everyone should know regarding the virus:

Increase in global cases and deaths:

The total number of cases worldwide has increased from 118,000 on March 11th to more than 1,6 million within one month. Deaths, on the other side, escalated from 4,300 to almost 104,000.

A decline in China infections:

China, which is the focal point of the pandemic, has witnessed a decline in the number of cases and deaths. The country announced the lowest rate of newly admitted coronavirus patients since January. No deaths were recorded on April 7th.

Europe is the new hotbed, an increase of cases in the US:

The focal point of the pandemic switched from China to Europe, like Spain, Italy, France who announced an increase in cases and casualties.

The WHO also alerted that the US may become the new epicenter due to an exponential increase in infections.

More restrictions:

Many countries imposed lockdowns and closed borders as an attempt to slow the spread of the novel pandemic.

India, which is known for its large population, announced a 21-day lockdown, while South Africa dictated restrictions on 57 million people.

The increase in cases and deaths obligated the US and Japan to announce a state of emergency.

In the Middle East, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia adopted strict curfews, as well as the UAE and Jordan.

WHO under attack:

The WHO has been subject to criticism over the measures taken to handle the pandemic.

President Donald Trump declared that the US may stop American funding as the WHO, according to him, adapted a China-centric strategy.