One-Day Snapshot of the COVID-19 Pandemic
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On Friday, March 13 World Health Organization
Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
said Europe had become the epicentre of the
COVID-19 pandemic "with more reported cases and
deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart
from China." He added that more cases are now
being reported every day than were reported in
China at the height of its epidemic. He also
emphasized that all countries with active cases
have unaffected areas, meaning that robust
surveillance is needed to find, isolate, test and
treat every case, to break the chains of
transmission. Even if transmission cannot be
stopped, he said, it can be slowed down, and you
can protect health facilities, old age homes and
other vital areas -- but only if you test all
suspected cases.
Snapshot of the Situation on March 13
Italy has the highest number of reported active
cases anywhere at the present time. On Friday,
March 13 it registered by far the most new cases
(2,547) and new deaths (250) anywhere. That day,
exactly three weeks after Italy identified its
first coronavirus cluster in its northern Lombardy
region, saw the biggest single day increase in
deaths due to the virus. Spain followed Italy with
2,086 new cases, while Germany and France also
registered several hundred new cases.
The continuously updating website Worldometers
indicates:
"There have so far been 145,634 COVID-19 cases
reported worldwide in 138 countries. The report
for March 13 includes the 696 affected passengers
aboard the Diamond Princess Liner cruise ship
harboured in Yokohama, Japan, of whom 364 are
active cases, 7 have died and 32 remain in serious
or critical condition."
Some other totals reported on March 13 included:
Deaths: 5,436
Recovered: 70,931
Active cases: 67,669 with 6,082 (9 per cent) of
these in serious or critical condition
Closed cases: 77,965 (93 percent recovered; 7 per
cent have died)
New cases: 11,058 (over the previous day)
The number of people affected to date per one
million population in countries with the highest
number of reported cases:
China: (80,815 cases): 56.1 infected per
one million
Italy: (17,660 cases): 292.1 infected per
one million
Iran: (11,364 cases): 135.3 infected per
one million
South Korea: (7,979 cases): 157.7 infected
per one million
Numbers for Selected Countries in Different
Parts of the World
Figures from Europe as of March 13:
Italy: (17,660 cases, 14,955 active;
1,266 deaths) with 2,547 new cases, 250 new deaths
Spain: (5,232 cases, 4,906 active; 133
deaths) with 2,086 new cases and 47 new deaths.
Germany: (3,675 cases, 3,621 active; 8
deaths) with 930 new cases, 2 new deaths
France: (3,661 cases, 3,570 active; 79
deaths) with 785 new cases, 18 new deaths
Britain: (798 cases, 769 active; 11 deaths)
with 208 new cases, 1 new death
By comparison, China reported just 11 new cases on
March 13, all but four of them travellers who
arrived in China from other countries.
In Eurasia:
Russia: (45 cases, 37 active; no deaths)
with 11 new cases
In West Asia:
Iran: (11,364 cases, 7,331 active; 514
deaths) with 1,289 new cases and 85 new deaths
Qatar: (350 cases, all active; no deaths)
with 58 new cases
Bahrain: (201 cases, 166 active; no deaths)
with 13 new cases
Israel: (126 cases, 122 active; no deaths)
with 17 new cases
Iraq: (101 cases, 68 active, 9 deaths) with
18 new cases
Palestine: (35 cases, all active; no
deaths) with 4 new cases
Jordan: (1 case, none active; no deaths)
In Southeast and South Asia:
South Korea: (7,979 cases, 7,398 active; 71
deaths) with 110 new cases, 5 new deaths
Vietnam: (44 cases, 28 active; no deaths)
with no new cases
Indonesia: (69 cases, 60 active; 4 deaths)
with 35 new cases, 3 new deaths
India: (82 cases, 70 active; 2 deaths)
with 8 new cases, 1 new death
Pakistan: (28 cases, 26 active; no deaths)
with 7 new cases
In North America:
USA: (2,291 cases, 2,200 active; 50 deaths)
with 594 new cases, 9 new deaths
Canada: (198 total cases, 186 active; 1
death) with 56 new cases
Mexico: (12 cases, 8 active; no deaths)
with no new cases
In Central America and the Caribbean:
Panama: (27 cases, all active; 1 death)
with 13 new cases
Costa Rica: (23 cases, all active; no
deaths) with no new cases
Jamaica: (8 cases, all active; no deaths)
with 6 new cases
Dominican Republic: (5 cases, all active,
no deaths) with no new cases
Cuba: (4 cases, all active; no deaths) with
1 new case
There are a very small number of cases in other
Caribbean islands, most reporting one confirmed
case only.
In South America:
Brazil: (151 cases, all active; no deaths )
with 74 new cases
Chile: (43 cases, all active; no deaths)
with 10 new cases
Argentina: (31 cases, 29 active; 2 deaths)
with no new cases, 1 new death
Peru: (29 cases, all active; no deaths)
with 6 new cases
Venezuela: (2 cases, both new and active;
no deaths)
In Africa:
Egypt: (80 cases, 51 active; 2 deaths) with
no new cases
South Africa: (24 cases, all active; no
deaths) with 8 new cases
Oceania:
Australia: (199 cases, 179 active; 3
deaths) with 43 new cases
New Zealand: (5 cases, all active; no
deaths) with no new cases
Control and Mitigation of COVID-19
Various measures to contain or mitigate the
spread of COVID-19 have been adopted or advised by
different countries as well as by different
jurisdictions within countries.
Some of the measures adopted include travel bans
from certain countries and areas, social
distancing, cancelling, banning or encouraging the
cancellation of large events and gatherings,
closure of schools, childcare centres and other
facilities and businesses, having people work from
home, implementation of special controls and
testing at border crossings and airports, closing
of borders (with the number of countries doing
this expanding daily), requests or orders for
people to go into quarantine or self-isolate for
14 days upon arriving from other countries.
Measures Taken and Recommended by Canada
On March 13, Prime Minister Trudeau announced
that Parliament would shut down for five weeks
until April 20, two more weeks than MPs had been
scheduled not to sit during that period. People
have been advised to refrain from all
international travel and to voluntarily
self-isolate for 14 days upon returning to Canada
from outside the country. Flights returning to
Canada will be restricted to a small number of
airports. Cruise ships with more than 500 people
will not be able to dock in Canada until July 1.
Cancellation of all large events has been advised,
and is occurring. A number of provinces have
announced school closings after the March break
week. The one-week waiting period to claim
Employment Insurance sickness benefits is being
waived for those who go into quarantine and are
eligible to collect benefits. The government is
reportedly "exploring additional measures" to
provide some kind of income support for Canadians
not eligible for EI sickness benefits.
Measures Taken by United States
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on March 13
that he was declaring the COVID-19 pandemic a
national emergency, saying that would "open up"
$50 billion for state and local governments to
respond to the outbreak. He further announced
March 14 that travel from Europe was being
suspended for 30 days, first excluding the UK and
Ireland, but later including them. In Texas, the
governor has declared a state of disaster, which
makes him commander-in-chief with broad powers to
rule by decree. Governors of several other states
have called in the National Guard. Washington
State is reported to be where the virus is
spreading the fastest.
Countries Subject to U.S. Blockade
In Iran, where as of March 13 there were more
than 11,000 cases and over 500 deaths, Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denounced the U.S.
"economic terrorism" against his country in a
letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
regarding the U.S. unilateral sanctions which are
seriously obstructing Iran's access to essential
medical equipment, such as masks, respirators,
viral testing kits and protective gear for health
care workers. The illegal U.S. sanctions against
Iran, which have caused financial institutions
around the world to be reluctant to have any
dealings with Iran or Iranian entities for fear of
being penalized by the U.S., are serving their
intended criminal purpose of making the Iranian
people suffer. Zarif wrote that "it is imperative
that the United Nations and its member states join
the Iranian people in demanding that the
government of the United States abandon its malign
and fruitless approach against Iran."[1]
China has stepped in, providing assistance by
sending teams of experts, test kits and medical
equipment to the government of Iran. France,
Germany, and Britain have reportedly offered a few
million dollars in aid as well.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has been stepping up its
economic warfare, threatening anyone that stores
Iranian oil or petrochemicals, no matter who or
where they are, with retaliatory action, and
allegedly paying those who will provide it with
photographs of ship-to-ship transfers in
international waters by countries acting to get
around its unilateral coercive measures against
Iran.
Measures in Cuba include epidemiological
surveillance organized with active monitoring of
travellers and patients with respiratory symptoms.
It has 1,322 beds available in 11 hospitals and
824 in 10 quarantine centers. Treatment protocols
have been established, including the use of 22
medications manufactured in Cuba that will be used
to treat patients, following guidelines
established based on China's experience with the
virus. The four active cases Cuba currently has
all recently arrived from Italy.
Venezuela, which on March 13 reported its first
two cases of COVID-19 in people who returned from
travels in the U.S. and Europe, has also called
for an immediate end to the U.S. economic,
commercial and financial blockade against it. In a
press conference on March 12, President Nicolás
Maduro described a type of naval blockade the U.S.
has now mounted, sending ships to follow and
threaten commercial vessels leaving Venezuela in
an all-out effort to impede its ability to export
its oil. He also said U.S. sanctions obstructed
Venezuela's ability to obtain kits for testing for
the coronavirus and forced it to pay three times
the cost of medications it had to import. Because
of this situation, he said Venezuela had been
provided with test kits by the WHO and had ten
thousand treatments of the Cuban-manufactured drug
Interferon Alpha 2b at the ready. The drug is not
a cure but boosts the body's immune system
response so it is better able to fight the
disease. China has also provided thousands of test
kits and other equipment and has been asked to
send a team of experts to assist Venezuela in
dealing with a possible outbreak in the country.
At the press conference, President Maduro also
announced measures are being put in place to
protect the health of the population, emphasizing
that, with a spirit of solidarity and cooperation,
the crisis would be resolved. "We don't complain,
we work to solve problems." he said, pointing out
that Venezuela is used to dealing with the brutal
effects of the U.S. blockade. Teams will be put
into action, he said, to ensure the people get
their deliveries of food staples, and workers will
not be abandoned to fend for themselves if they
are forced to be off the job. He announced that
flights from Europe and Colombia are being
suspended, big gatherings will not be allowed and
that public places like the national museum will
be closed temporarily.
Note
1. For the full text of the letter, click
here.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 8 - March 14, 2020
Article Link:
One-Day
Snapshot of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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