World reported 1.25 lakh fresh cases and more than 5K deaths on May 29
Any hope that the blazing sun or a favourable planetary configuration — if not the claustrophobic lockdown or some alternative medicine or malarkey — could slow down the relentless march of coronavirus across the globe seems to be misplaced. The hopes of any approaching “global peak out” was dashed on May 29 when the world reported 1.25 lakh fresh cases and more than 5,000 deaths. This was the largest single-day spike since the start of the outbreak five months ago in China’s Wuhan province.
It was a black Friday for the globe in its fight against the undead enemy. For the better part of May, the world reported around 90,000 fresh cases every day. Beginning the month at a figure of 33,94,152, the number swelled to 60,31,023 across the globe on May 29 with the addition of 1,25,048 cases during the day itself.
Friday’s 35 per cent spike above the monthly average is a clear pointer to two things: Coronavirus is constantly on the move to find new hunting ground; and removal of lockdown will come with a price.
The global picture could be a serious cause of concern for epidemiologists and world leaders who were expecting that at some point in time the virus would lose steam and the world would learn to live it.
The globe was reporting around 80K-95K cases till May 10. Then it saw a sudden spike and recorded 1,06,000 new cases on May 25. Commenting on the sudden rise in the number of cases, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “We still have a long way to go in this pandemic.” We are very concerned about rising cases in low and middle-income countries.”
May 21 was another big day with a spike of 1,00,000 plus cases, followed by May 22 when the world reported 1,07,000 cases. And then came Friday, May 29, when coronavirus struck in a big way leaving 1.25 lakh new patients and over 5,000 dead in a day.
It’s obvious that as the world begins to reopen after nearly two-months of lockdown, the virus gears up to take advantage of the security breach in the geographical terrain it has already conquered.
Secondly, after leaving tens of thousands dead and millions infected in Europe and the USA, the virus has found new theaters of play — South America and India.
Health experts were hopeful that the success of lockdown in taming the surge of coronavirus across Europe would give them much-needed time to develop a vaccine or cure to permanently erase the sign of corona from the face of the globe.
But the way France reported 3,000-plus cases on Thursday, a three-week high number, has given way to a renewed fear that any relaxation in lockdown would unlock the deadly potential of the virus to spread and strike.
Statistics released by the French authorities on Friday show that around 100 virus clusters have emerged around France since the Government started easing confinement measures on May 11.
Similarly, Singapore and South Korea, which had achieved remarkable success in containing the corona outbreak through intensive testing and effective lockdown, have started showing signs of the return of the virus. The fact that both these countries left a little loophole in the lockdown enforcement, shows that the virus is able to spread swiftly the moment it found even a little room to manoeuver.
The case of Brazil is also a warning to those who argue for aggressive relaxation of norms. Here is a country whose own President , Jair Bolsonaro, led a protest against lockdown proposals. The result has been an unmitigated disaster. Brazil is now on the second spot in global tally and reported nearly 30,000 cases in a day on May 29.
The US has also paid a heavy price for enforcing a”patchy” lockdown and showing undue haste in opening up several of its State. The result has been on the predictable line. The deadly virus has now spread out to far flung parts of the country after enacting mayhem in New York.
The spike in certain countries can be attributed to increased testing, but the fact remains that the virus has spread from one continent to another in a very systematic manner, starting with China, then to Europe, then to the USA, then to South America, Middle East, and India.
As the things stand the world will have to closely watch how the virus behaves after Europe reopens and India further relaxes its lockdown norms.
As of now, more than 60 per cent of the cases are reported from the USA, Brazil, Russia, and India on a daily basis. For example on Friday out of 1.25 lakh new cases, nearly 75,00 came from these four countries with the USA and Brazil contributing 29,000 plus cases and India and Russian 8,000 plus cases each.
In the next few weeks, in addition to these four countries, the world will have to keep a close eye on the spread of the virus in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
Amid fears expressed by the medical community that the world could see a fresh wave of corona in winter, one has to wait and see if the first wave itself dies out by then or not. Friday’s marker is ominous in that context.
With the world in the “opening up’ phase, the coronavirus is sending a clear message that it would test the resolve of mankind to fight it out in a protracted high-priced battle.
