On the Global Pandemic for Week Ending May 16
Number of Cases Worldwide
As of May 16, the worldwide statistics for
COVID-19 pandemic as reported by Worldometer were:
- Total reported cases: 4,647,961. This is
642,306 more than the total reported on May 9 of
4,005,655. The increase in cases compared to the
previous week was 579,273.
- Total active cases: 2,567,983. This is 214,088
more than the number reported on May 9 of
2,353,895. The increase in total active cases
compared to the previous week was 261,951.
- Closed cases: 2,079,978. This is 428,218 more
than the number reported on May 9 of 1,651,760.
This compares to an increase in the previous week
of 317,322.
- Deaths: 308,985. This is 33,316 more deaths
than on May 9, when the toll was 275,669. This
compares to an increase in the previous week of
35,181.
- Recovered: 1,770,993. This is up 394,902 from
the May 9 figure of 1,376,091 and compares to an
increase the previous week of 282,141 recoveries.
There were 99,405 new cases from May 15 to 16.
This compares to the one-day increase in cases
from May 7 to 8 of 96,262 new cases.
The disease was present in 213 countries and
territories, up from 212 the week prior. Of these,
52 countries had less than 100 cases, as compared
to May 9 when there were 56 countries with less
than 100 cases. There are 15 countries/territories
without active cases this week, up from four the
previous week. They are Mauritius (332 cases; 322
recovered; 10 deaths); Faeroe Islands (187 cases,
all recovered); Eritrea (39 cases, all recovered);
Timor-Leste (24 cases, all recovered); Belize (18
cases; 16 recovered; 2 deaths); New Caledonia (18
cases, all recovered); Saint Lucia (18 cases, all
recovered); the Malvinas (13 cases, all
recovered); Greenland (11 cases; all recovered);
Suriname (10 cases; 9 recovered; 1 death); Papua
New Guinea (8 cases; all recovered); Caribbean
Netherlands (6 cases; all recovered); St. Barth (6
cases, all recovered); Western Sahara (6 cases,
all recovered); Anguilla (3 cases, all recovered);
Saint Pierre et Miquelon (1 case, recovered).
The five countries with the highest number of
cases on May 16 are noted below, accompanied by
the number of cases and deaths per million
population:
USA: 1,484,287 (1,068,029 active; 327,751
recovered; 88,507 deaths) and 4,488 cases per
million; 268 deaths per million
- May 9 1,318,686 (1,018,180 active; 222,008
recovered; 78,498 deaths) and 3,984 cases per
million; 237 deaths per million
Spain: 274,367 (57,941 active; 188,967
recovered; 27,459 deaths)
and 5,868 cases per million; 587 deaths per
million
- May 9: 260,117 (65,410 active; 168,408
recovered; 26,299 deaths) and 5,563 cases per
million; 562 deaths per million
Russia: 272,043 (206,340 active; 63,166
recovered; 2,537 deaths)
and 1,801 cases per million; 17 deaths per million
- May 9: 187,859 (159,528 active; 26,608
recovered; 1,723 deaths) and 1,287 cases per
million; 12 deaths per million
UK: 236,711 (active N/A; recovered N/A;
33,998 deaths) and 3,489 cases per million; 501
deaths per million
- May 9: 211,364 (179,779 active; recovered N/A;
31,241 deaths) and 3,114 cases per million; 460
deaths per million
Italy: 223,885 (72,070 active; 120,205
recovered; 31,610 deaths) and 3,702 cases per
million; 523 deaths per million
- May 9: 217,185 (87,961 active; 99,023 recovered;
30,201 deaths) and 3,592 cases per million; 500
deaths per million
The U.S. alone has about 31.93 per cent of all
cases worldwide as compared to 33 on May 9. Cases
in Europe comprise 37.46 per cent of all cases
worldwide, as compared to 39.48 on May 9.
Cases in Top Five Countries by Region
In Europe on May 16, the two other European
countries with the highest number of reported
cases after Spain and Italy, listed above, are
France and Germany:
France: 179,506 (91,529 active; 60,448
recovered; 27,529 deaths) and 2,751 cases per
million; 422 deaths per million
- May 9: 176,079 (94,067 active; 55,782 recovered;
26,230 deaths) and 2,698 cases per million; 402
deaths per million
Germany: 175,699 (15,998 active; 151,700
recovered; 8,001 deaths) and 2,098 cases per
million; 96 deaths per million
- May 9: 170,678 (21,468 active; 141,700
recovered; 7,510 deaths) and 2,037 cases per
million; 90 deaths per million
A major development in Europe this week is the
lifting of travel restrictions or plans to do so
in the near future, including by those countries
the most affected by the pandemic.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on May
10 that the UK would gradually begin to lift
various confinement measures during the week. He
said that while people should continue to work
from home if possible, construction and
manufacturing workers would be encouraged to go to
work. However, people should avoid using public
transport, which will continue to operate at
around 10 per cent capacity, said Johnson, adding,
"This is not the time simply to end the lockdown
this week. Instead, we are taking the first
careful steps to modify our measures." The plan
will see shops and primary schools re-opened from
June 1, while hospitality businesses and other
public places could reopen -- "if the numbers
support it" -- on July 1, Johnson said. He
stressed that the plan was "conditional" and would
depend on the infection rate remaining low, as
well as other criteria, including a sustained and
consistent fall in the death rate, testing for
coronavirus, and the availability of critical care
facilities.
In the UK at least, such plans are underway
despite the lack of confidence in the government's
efforts to contain the pandemic and the real
danger of a resurgence of infections that could
result.
In Italy, under a new decree approved on May 16,
inter-regional and foreign travel will be allowed
again as of June 3, except for Vatican City and
San Marino, a measure aimed at restarting the
tourism industry. The timing is also meant to
prevent mass travel for the Republic Day holiday
on June 2.
In Germany, EU citizens whose countries are part
of the Schengen agreement travel zone and UK
citizens will soon be free to enter the country if
the pandemic remains under control, Deutsche Welle
reported on May 15. In turn, German citizens will
be able to visit neighbouring countries more
easily as Germany prepares to open up its borders
in the coming days and weeks, as it is "confident"
it has been "successful in containing the
pandemic," the Interior Ministry said on May 15.
Previously, movement was restricted to only travel
deemed essential and those entering or leaving
Germany had to quarantine for 14 days; this will
now only be advised for those coming from places
with high rates of infection.
In France, the government has issued a
colour-coded map of the country, splitting the
country in half into green and red zones. The map
combines infections over the past seven days,
stress on intensive care beds in hospitals and
testing capacity. On May 11, lockdown measures
were relaxed more in the green areas than the red
for the time being, the BBC reports. To begin
with, primary schools and most businesses will be
allowed to reopen in both zones. Cafes,
restaurants, secondary schools, public parks and
gardens will be able to reopen in June in the
green zones, infection rates permitting. In Paris
and the four adjoining regions -- Ile-de-France,
Hauts-de-France, Grand Est Bourgogne-Franche-Comte
-- which comprise the red zone, public parks and
gardens will stay shut. Masks must be worn on
public transport, which will be disinfected at
least once a day, and stores will have the right
to ask shoppers to wear them. Social distancing
rules will also stay in place. People everywhere
(except the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte)
can go back to work and leave home without
downloading a permit. Video surveillance cameras
will monitor how many people are wearing masks and
that they are staying at least a metre apart.
In Spain, half of the country has "advanced to
phase one of a four-phase plan to ease lockdown
restrictions by July," the Guardian
reports. "Hoteliers can open their properties --
though none of the common areas -- and bars and
restaurants can open a limited amount of outdoor
seating. However Madrid, Málaga, Granada,
Barcelona and parts of Valencia are among the
provinces and municipalities not yet cleared to
advance.
"Tourism is Spain's third largest contributor to
the economy, making up 12.3 per cent of its GDP,
and there is pressure to get hotels to reopen,
despite the fact that until July no one will be
allowed to travel between provinces. And until
borders reopen, airlines start flying and the
14-day quarantine is lifted, there will be no
foreign tourists.
"In the meantime, to ensure health security and
help restore confidence, government
health-and-safety guidelines have been drawn up
for every sector of the tourism industry. For
hotels, this means vigorous cleaning and
disinfection multiple times a day by staff wearing
PPE, as well as changes to the guest experience,
such as a ban on buffets."
In Eurasia on May 16, Russia tops the list of
five countries with the highest cases in the
region, with the figures reported above, followed
by:
Turkey: 146,457 (36,269 active; 106,133
recovered; 4,055 deaths) and 1,739 cases per
million; 48 deaths per million
- May 9: 135,569 (45,484 active; 86,396 recovered;
3,689 deaths) and 1,607 cases per million; 44
deaths per million
Kazakhstan: 5,850 ( 3,109 active; 2,707
recovered; 34 deaths) and 312 cases per million; 2
deaths per million
- May 9: 4,834 (3,172 active; 1,631 recovered; 31
deaths) and 257 cases per million; 2 deaths per
million
Armenia: 4,283 (2,437 active; 1,791
recovered; 55 deaths) and 1,446 cases per million;
9 deaths per million
- May 9: 3,029 (1,768 active; 1,218 recovered; 43
deaths) and 1,022 cases per million; 15 deaths per
million
Azerbaijan: 2,980 (1,058 active; 1,886
recovered; 36 deaths) and 294 cases per million; 4
deaths per million
- May 9: 2,422 (771 active; 1,620 recovered; 31
deaths)
Since May 3, Russia has had about 10,000 or more
new cases per day. The daily rate of deaths
continues to increase, with an all-time high
reached on May 15 of 113. Nonetheless, on May 11,
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that
measures taken thus far had created a situation
where a gradual easing of coronavirus lockdown
measures could begin on May 12, Reuters reported.
President Putin "emphasized the lifting of
restrictions would be gradual and that individual
regions in the world's largest country would need
to tailor their approach to varying local
conditions. Moscow, for example, has said it will
keep its own lockdown measures in place until May
31."
"Mass public events would still be banned," said
Putin, "and Russians aged 65 or over are asked to
stay home, even as certain sectors of the bruised
economy such as construction and agriculture are
allowed to restart work."
Deaths in Russia due to COVID-19 are relatively
low, which Russian officials attribute to the high
level of testing, 6,413,948 as of May 16, the
highest number in the world and more than double
the number carried out by Germany, 3,147,771,
which has the next highest number.
In West Asia on May 16:
Iran: 118,392 (18,308 active; 93,147
recovered; 6,937 deaths) and 1,412 cases per
million; 83 deaths per million
- May 9: 104,691 (14,313 active; 83,837 recovered;
6,541 deaths) and 1,246 cases per million; 78
deaths per million
Saudi Arabia: 52,016 (28,048 active;
23,666 recovered; 302 deaths) and 1,497 cases per
million; 9 deaths per million
- May 9: 35,432 (26,083 active; 9,120 recovered;
229 deaths) and 1,018 cases per million; 7 deaths
per million
Qatar: 30,972 (27,169 active; 3,788
recovered; 15 deaths) and 10,774 cases per
million; 5 deaths per million
- May 9: 20,201 (17,819 active; 2,370 recovered;
12 deaths) and 7,012 cases per million; 4 deaths
per million
UAE: 21,831 (14,293 active; 7,328
recovered; 210 deaths)
and 2,211 cases per million; 21 deaths per million
- May 9: 16,793 (12,782 active; 3,837 recovered;
174 deaths) and 1,698 cases per million; 18 deaths
per million
Israel: 16,606 (3,519 active; 12,820
recovered; 267 deaths) and 1,922 cases per
million; 31 deaths per million
- May 9: 16,436 (4,962 active; 11,229 recovered;
245 deaths) and 1,899 cases per million; 28 deaths
per million
In Iran, after a steady decrease in the rate of
daily new cases from more then 3,000 to less than
1,000 between March 30 and May 2, the number of
new cases has been on the increase, back up to
about 2,000 new cases per day. Lockdown
restrictions -- the closing of educational
institutions and a ban on cultural, religious, and
sports gatherings -- have gradually been lifted
since April 11, beginning with the lifting of
"low-risk" businesses. This past week, Iran
reopened all mosques across the country. while
schools in "low-risk" regions are set to reopen on
May 16, Anadolu Agency reported.
In Iraq, the destruction wrought by the U.S.-led
imperialist intervention in 2003 has created a
situation where "a massive 70 per cent of the
country's health care infrastructure has been
destroyed. As hospitals are besieged by victims of
the pandemic, a state enfeebled by two decades of
conflict is again at a breaking point," a May 11
article published on the website Jacobin reports.
The article points out that "the current health
crisis was declared just at the moment that Iraq
was going through one of the gravest episodes
since the beginning of the occupation." It notes
that "At the same time, the Trump administration
adopted a more aggressive strategy in Iraq, as
relations between the United States and Iran grew
ever more tense, with both American and Israeli
attacks increasing against the Tehran-aligned
Popular Mobilization Forces. The point of no
return was reached on January 3 this year, when
American bombs killed Qassim Soleimani, commander
of the al-Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis,
the PMF's second-in-command, seen as the 'hero of
the victory against Daesh [IS]' by many Iraqis.
[...]
"The killing of al-Mohandis in particular was
viewed, by Iraqis from across the political
spectrum, as a serious attack against the
country's sovereignty. On January 5 the Iraqi
parliament passed a resolution calling for the end
of foreign troops' presence in the country, as
millions of people took to the streets to denounce
the assassination of both Soleimani and
al-Mohandis. Muqtada al-Sadr commanded his
partisans to leave the anti-government protests
and join the funeral processions and, for his
part, demanded the retreat of American troops from
Iraq. Threatened, President Trump said:
"'If they do ask us to leave, if we don't do it
on a very friendly basis. We will charge them
sanctions like they've never seen before ever.
It'll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.'
"In mid-January, Washington went so far as to
threaten to restrict Iraq's access to its own bank
reserves, held in New York -- the ultimate symbol
of Baghdad's subordination.
"It is in this context that the coronavirus
epidemic was declared at the end of February. The
minister of health demanded $5 billion immediately
and a further $150 billion to buy testing and
other medical equipment. But the government hasn't
been able to fully respond, since a new budget has
not yet been voted through by parliament.
"Confinement measures have worsened the economic
crisis and Iraq's dependence on oil -- 85 per cent
of the state budget comes from petrochemical
revenues -- meaning that 'Iraq has lost half of
its financial revenues' over the last period, as
one government official has explained. 1,928
people in Iraq have been infected (as compared to
717 in Lebanon and 501 in Palestine; we don't have
reliable statistics for Syria and Yemen). If this
number seems small in comparison with the hecatomb
of the West, the catastrophe may be no less
severe, given the state of health services.
[...]
"The health sector gets only 2.5 per cent of the
national budget. The successive wars have ruined
what was, in the 1990s, one of the most developed
health care systems in the region. According to a
UNICEF report, 97 per cent of the urban and 71 per
cent of the rural population had access to medical
care in 1990, thanks to a well-established medical
profession, and the fact that care itself was free
of charge. But according to the UN, around 20,000
Iraqi doctors have left the country since 2003.
"As the second-biggest exporter of oil in the
world, the state today is not able to enact
general testing. In Mosul, the country's
second-biggest city, nine of the thirteen
hospitals on which the city depended were
destroyed during the war against IS. The larger
part of the city does not have access to water or
basic services. According to Médecins Sans
Frontičres, there are not even 1,000 beds per 1.8
million people, with 70 per cent of all medical
facilities destroyed. In Sadr City, there are just
four hospitals for 3.5 million inhabitants and a
chronic lack of medical staff.
"The country's economic crisis brought many
thousands of protesters onto the streets through
late 2019; the health crisis will only exacerbate
the population's precarious living conditions.
"According to the UN, 4 million Iraqi survive
thanks to international aid which, since the
crisis is global, may itself plummet. There are
still 1.4 million displaced people in the country,
200,000 of whom are living in camps.
"And, as the state plans to reduce the wages of
state functionaries (that is, 30 per cent of the
active population), a huge number of people due to
confinement have already lost their income, with
two-thirds of the active population working in the
informal sector."
In South Asia on May 16:
India: 86,595 (53,049 active; 30,786
recovered; 2,760 deaths) and 63 cases per million;
2 deaths per million
- May 9: 59,693 (39,821 active; 17,887 recovered;
1,985 deaths) and 43 cases per million; 1 death
per million
Pakistan: 38,799 (27,085 active; 10,880
recovered; 834 deaths) and 176 cases per million;
4 deaths per million
- May 9: 26,435 (18,306 active; 7,530 recovered;
599 deaths) and 120 cases per million; 3 deaths
per million
Bangladesh: 20,995 (16,564 active; 4,117
recovered; 314 deaths) and 128 cases per million;
2 deaths per million
- May 9: 13,134 (10,827 active; 2,101 recovered;
206 deaths) and 80 cases per million; 1 death per
million
Afghanistan: 6,402 (5,489 active; 745
recovered; 168 deaths) and 165 cases per million;
4 deaths per million
- May 9: 3,778 (3,197 active; 472 recovered; 109
deaths) and 97 cases per million; 3 cases per
million
Sri Lanka: 936 (407 active; 520 recovered;
9 deaths) and 44 cases per million; 0.4 deaths per
million
- May 9: 824 (575 active; 240 recovered; 9 deaths)
and 38 cases per million; 0.4 deaths per million
In Southeast Asia on May 16:
Singapore: 27,356 (20,087 active; 7,248
recovered; 21 deaths) and 4,681 cases per million;
4 deaths per million
- May 9: 21,707 (19,647 active; 2,040 recovered;
20 deaths) and 3,710 cases per million; 3 deaths
per million
Indonesia: 17,025 (12,025 active; 3,911
recovered; 1,089 deaths) and 62 cases per million;
4 deaths per million
- May 9: 13,112 (9,675 active; 2,494 recovered;
943 deaths) and 48 cases per million; 3 deaths per
million
Philippines: 12,305 (8,927 active; 2,561
recovered; 817 deaths) and 112 cases per million;
7 deaths per million
- May 9: 10,463 (8,033 active; 1,734 recovered;
696 deaths) and 95 cases per million; 6 deaths per
million
Malaysia: 6,872 (1,247 active; 5,512
recovered; 113 deaths) and 213 cases per million;
3 deaths per million
- May 9: 6,535 (1,564 active; 4,864 recovered; 107
deaths) and 202 cases per million; 3 deaths per
million
Thailand: 3,025 (114 active; 2,855
recovered; 56 deaths) and 43 cases per million;
0.8 deaths per million
- May 9: 3,000 (161 active; 2,784 recovered; 55
deaths) and 43 cases per million; 0.8 deaths per
million
In East Asia on May 16:
China: 82,941 (89 active; 78,219
recovered; 4,633 deaths)
and 58 cases per million; 3 deaths per million
- May 9: 82,886 (260 active; 77,993 recovered;
4,633 deaths) and 58 cases per million; 3 deaths
per million
Japan: 16,203 (5,152 active; 10,338
recovered; 713 deaths) and 128 cases per million;
6 deaths per million
- May 9: 15,575 (9,839 active; 5,146 recovered;
590 deaths) and 123 cases per million; 5 deaths
per million
South Korea: 11,037 (924 active; 9,851
recovered; 262 deaths) and 215 cases per million;
5 deaths per million
- May 9: 10,822 (1,082 active; 9,484 recovered;
256 deaths) and 211 cases per million; 5 deaths
per million
Taiwan: 440 (44 active; 389 recovered; 7
deaths) 18 cases per million; 0.3 deaths per
million
- May 9: 440 (79 active; 355 recovered; 6 deaths)
and 18 cases per million; 0.3 deaths per million
China and Korea have brought the pandemic under
control, however the recent easing of pandemic
restrictions in those countries has resulted in
small resurgences of COVID-19 infections in both
countries in the past week. However, the overall
situation means that both countries can put full
weight behind efforts to mop up such outbreaks.
For example, in Wuhan, China, authorities
announced this past week that a program to test
all of the city's 11 million residents would be
undertaken to block any further resurgences.
In North America on May 16:
USA: 1,484,287 (1,068,029 active; 327,751
recovered; 88,507 deaths) and 4,488 cases per
million; 268 deaths per million
- May 9 1,318,686 (1,018,180 active; 222,008
recovered; 78,498 deaths) and 3,984 cases per
million; 237 deaths per million
Canada: 74,613 (32,156 active; 36,895
recovered; 5,562 deaths) and 1,979 cases per
million; 148 deaths per million
- May 9: 66,326 (31,811 active; 29,948 recovered;
4,567 deaths) and 1,757 cases per million; 121
deaths per million
Mexico: 45,032 (9,814 active; 30,451
recovered; 4,767 deaths) and 350 cases per
million; 37 deaths per million
- May 9: 29,616 (8,874 active; 17,781 recovered;
2,961 deaths) and 230 cases per million; 23 deaths
per million
The overall political crisis in the U.S. combined
with pandemic continues to illustrate the need for
profound political renewal, where working people
can exercise control over the matters that concern
them, including setting a new human-centred
direction for the economy. Despite the overall
situation across the U.S. not being under control,
various states have begun to lift lockdown
restrictions, resulting in new outbreaks of
COVID-19.
This past week it came to light that in January,
a U.S. domestic mask manufacturer in Texas, with
the capacity to manufacture 1.7 million of N95
masks per week, ultimately had its offer to
restart production lines turned down by the
government. Not long after, shortages of masks
became rampant and the federal government has been
purchasing masks from abroad at greatly inflated
prices, and procurement contracts have been handed
out to unqualified suppliers. Domestic production
of masks in the U.S. has still not restarted and
masks are being imported, including from China, a
country that the Trump administration is stepping
up its attempts to demonize. Meanwhile, despite
air travel being virtually stopped, the
Transportation Safety Authority has been hoarding
more than 1.3 million N95 masks, instead of
donating them to hospitals, as directed by the
Department of Homeland Security.
While the ruling circles in the U.S. have been
enacting pay-the-rich bailout schemes for private
corporations, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) a
public institution that is especially crucial
during the pandemic, has been denied the funding
it requires during this time of crisis. The
American Postal Workers Union (AWPU) has issued a
campaign calling on the government to support the
USPS, stating:
"Postal workers are keeping our country moving
and U.S. economy working for us during this time
of crisis -- getting prescriptions delivered to
people sheltering in place, making e-commerce
possible and keeping families connected. It is the
emergency distribution system when our country is
in crisis.
"But at this unprecedented time, that work is
under threat. The Coronavirus shutdown is
plummeting postal revenues while increasing costs.
The Postal Service could run out of money by the
end of the Summer and the Trump administration is
trying to leverage the crisis to sacrifice our
public Postal Service at the altar of private
profit.
"The loss of the USPS would shatter our response
to the Coronavirus pandemic, hit already weakened
businesses, and ravage communities. Our public
Postal Service needs all American leaders --
Democrats and Republicans alike -- to provide
urgent and ongoing financial support from the
Federal Government during this public health and
economic crisis."
Despite the huge value that the USPS creates, an
April 14 article in New York Magazine
explains that "the USPS is not funded by
congressional appropriations. Rather, since the
1970s, Congress has required the Postal Service to
simultaneously:
"- Finance its own operations, as though it were
a business.
"- Provide mail service to every part of the
country -- and charge Americans the same
(affordable) postal rates no matter where they
live, even if such Americans happen to reside in
rural hinterlands that private carriers ignore
because they cannot be profitably served.
"This dual mandate was always a challenge. But as
the internet's growth reduced demand for snail
mail, it became nigh impossible for the USPS to
meet both of these requirements without cutting
jobs and employee compensation. And, in 2006, a
Republican Congress deliberately made the agency's
predicament worse by (needlessly) forcing it to
prepay all its employees' pension and retirement
health costs decades in advance. All this rendered
the Postal Service technically insolvent before
COVID-19 made its presence felt in the U.S. Now
that the crisis has also drastically reduced
America's overall mail volume, the agency's
revenue is in free fall. According to Postmaster
General Megan Brennan, USPS will incur $22 billion
in new losses over the next 18 months."
In Central America and the Caribbean on May 16:
Dominican Republic: 11,739 (7,758 active;
3,557 recovered; 424 deaths) and 1,084 cases per
million; 39 deaths per million
- May 9: 9,376 (6,710 active; 2,286 recovered; 380
deaths) and 864 cases per million; 35 deaths per
million
Panama: 9,268 (2,922 active; 6,080
recovered; 266 active) and 2,152 cases per
million; 62 deaths per million
- May 9: 7,868 (6,757 active; 886 recovered; 225
deaths) and 1,824 cases per million; 52 deaths per
million
Honduras: 2,460 (2,062 active; 264
recovered; 134 deaths) and 249 cases per million;
14 deaths per million
- May 9: 1,685 (1,426 active; 154 recovered; 105
deaths) and 170 cases per million; 11 deaths per
million
Cuba: 1,840 (336 active; 1,425 recovered;
79 deaths) and 162 cases per million; 7 deaths per
million
- May 9: 1,741 (589 active; 1,078 recovered; 74
deaths) and 154 cases per million; 7 deaths per
million
Guatemala: 1,643 (1,478 active; 135
recovered; 30 deaths) and 92 cases per million; 2
deaths per million
- May 9: 832 (719 active; 90 recovered; 23 deaths)
and 46 cases per million; 1 death per million
In South America on May 16:
Brazil: 220,291 (120,359 active; 84,970
recovered; 14,962 deaths) and 1,037 cases per
million; 70 deaths per million
- May 9: 145,328 (80,081 active; 55,350 recovered;
9,897 deaths) and 684 cases per million; 47 deaths
per million
Peru: 84,495 (54,956 active; 27,147
recovered; 2,392 deaths) and 2,567 cases per
million; 73 deaths per million
- May 9: 61,847 (41,121 active; 19,012 recovered;
1,714 deaths) and 1,876 cases per million; 52
deaths per million
Chile: 39,542 (22,534 active; 16,614
recovered; 394 deaths) and 2,071 cases per
million; 21 deaths per million
- May 9: 25,972 (13,518 active; 12,160 recovered;
294 deaths) and 1,359 cases per million; 15 deaths
per million
Ecuador: 31,467 (25,440 active; 3,433
recovered; 2,594 deaths) and 1,787 cases per
million; 147
- May 9: 30,298 (25,211 active; 3,433 recovered;
1,654 deaths) and 1,717 cases per million; 94
deaths per million
Colombia: 14,216 (10,210 active; 3,460
recovered; 546 deaths) and 280 cases per million;
11 deaths per million
- May 9: 9,456 (6,749 active; 2,300 recovered; 407
deaths) and 186 cases per million; 8 deaths per
million
Brazil's current rate of new daily cases reached
more than 15,000 on May 16. If this continues
unabated, the country will likely have the third
highest number of cases worldwide by next week.
Reuters reported on May 15 that "Brazil's health
minister Nelson Teich handed in his resignation on
Friday [May 15] after less than a month on the
job, adding to turmoil in the government's
handling of the novel coronavirus as the country
becomes a global hot spot for the pandemic.
"Teich, who disagreed with right-wing President
Jair Bolsonaro, has submitted his resignation and
will hold a news conference later Friday, his
office said. Bolsonaro has been pushing in recent
days for wider use of hydroxychloroquine as a
treatment for COVID-19, which Teich resisted.
"They have also disagreed on the pace of
reopening the economy. Last week, the minister
said he was not consulted before Bolsonaro issued
a decree allowing gyms, beauty parlours and
hairdressers to open for business.
"Teich is the second health minister to resign
amid the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil. In
mid-April he replaced Nelson Mandetta, who also
resisted broader use of hydroxychloroquine and
disagreed with Bolsonaro's argument to do away
with quarantines and other coronavirus
restrictions."
"It is not clear who will be the next to step
into the role."
In Africa on May 16:
South Africa: 13,524 (7,194 active; 6,083
recovered; 247 deaths) and 228 cases per million;
4 deaths per million
- May 9: 8,895 (5,564 active; 3,153 recovered; 178
deaths) and 150 cases per million; 3 deaths per
million
Egypt: 11,228 (7,837 active; 2,799
recovered; 592 deaths) and 110 cases per million;
6 deaths per million
- May 9: 8,476 (6,028 active; 1,945 recovered; 503
deaths) and 83 cases per million; 5 deaths per
million
Morocco: 6,681 (3,014 active; 3,475
recovered; 192 deaths) and 181 cases per million;
5 deaths per million
- May 9: 5,711 (3,201 active; 2,324 recovered; 186
deaths) and 155 cases per million; 5 deaths per
million
Algeria: 6,629 (2,822 active; 3,271
recovered; 536 deaths) and 152 cases per million;
12 deaths per million
- May 9: 5,369 (2,414 active; 2,467 recovered; 488
deaths) and 122 cases per million; 11 deaths per
million
Ghana: 5,638 (4,150 active; 1,460
recovered; 28 deaths) and 182 cases per million;
0.9 deaths per million
- May 9: 4,012 (3,671 active; 323 recovered; 18
deaths) and 129 cases per million; 0.6 deaths per
million
Overall, the total number of cases on the African
continent on May 16 is 80,171, up from 58,528 on
May 9.
The U.S. imperialists' wretched inhumanity
continues to be on full display in Somalia, where
"In the first four months of this year, U.S.
Africa Command has conducted more airstrikes in
Somalia than it did during all of Barack Obama's
eight years in office," Nick Turse, writing for The
Intercept, reported on April 22. The report
continues:
"The massive escalation of America's undeclared
war in Somalia comes as UN Secretary-General
António Guterres has repeatedly appealed for a
global ceasefire amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
'There should be only one fight in our world
today, our shared battle against COVID-19,' he
reiterated on April 3. 'We must mobilize every
ounce of energy to defeat it.'
"That same day, AFRICOM [the U.S. military's
Africa Command] conducted an 'airstrike targeting
al-Shabaab terrorists in the vicinity of Bush
Madina, Somalia,' according to a command press
release. The U.S. claimed five members of
al-Shabaab were killed in the strike.
"Since the beginning of the year, AFRICOM has
announced 39 airstrikes in Somalia. The command
announced a total of 36 such attacks from 2009 to
2017, under Obama, peaking in 2016 with 19
declared airstrikes. Last year, under President
Donald Trump, the U.S. conducted 63 air attacks in
Somalia, the most ever in a single year.
[...]
"'The high tempo of U.S. air and ground
operations in Somalia appears to be focused on
supporting efforts by Somali government forces and
its [African Union Mission in Somalia] allies to
dislodge the terror group from its strongholds,'
said Chris Woods, the director of Airwars, a
UK-based airstrike monitoring group. 'There are
also a significant number of strikes targeting
leadership within the terror group.'
"The spike in U.S. airstrikes comes as the number
of COVID-19 cases in Somalia is similarly rising.
On April 8, there were 21 confirmed cases of the
novel coronavirus in Somalia. [As of May 16,
there are 1,284 total cases (1,096 active; 135
recovered; 53 deaths) -- TML Ed. Note] Most
of those infected have no history of travel
abroad, indicating local transmission of the
disease and worrying prospects for the future --
especially among the many internally displaced
persons, or IDPs, who have lost their homes to the
ongoing conflict between al-Shabaab and the
Federal Government of Somalia, which is backed by
the United States.
"'There is an increased risk that cases may go
undetected or undiagnosed if community
transmission begins and becomes widespread,' reads
an April 20 report from the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 'The impact
on the 2.6 million [internally displaced persons]
living in more than 2,000 crowded settlements with
limited access to health and water, sanitation and
hygiene services would be catastrophic.'
"While reports have been circulating about
potential U.S. military drawdowns and even base
closures in Africa, the number of U.S. outposts in
Somalia is significant and poised to expand. There
are five U.S. bases in Somalia -- the second-most
on the continent after Niger -- according to
formerly secret 2019 AFRICOM planning documents
revealed by The Intercept earlier this
year."
In Oceania on May 16:
Australia: 7,036 (576 active; 6,362
recovered; 98 deaths) and 276 cases per million; 4
deaths per million
- May 9: 6,914 (738 active; 6,079 recovered; 97
deaths) and 271 cases per million; 4 deaths per
million
New Zealand: 1,498 (49 active; 1,428
recovered; 21 deaths) and 311 cases per million; 4
deatths per million
- May 9: 1,490 (122 active; 1,347 recovered; 21
deaths) and 309 cases per million; 4 deaths per
million
Guam: 149 (5 deaths)
- May 9: 142 (5 deaths)
French Polynesia: 60 (1 active; 59
recovered) and 214 cases per million
- May 9: 60 (4 active; 56 recovered) and 214 cases
per million
New Caledonia: 18 (all recovered)
- May 9: 18 (1 active; 17 recovered)
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 17 - May 16, 2020
Article Link:
On the Global Pandemic for Week Ending May 16
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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