World’s coronavirus focus shifts from Europe to the Americas

The focus of the world’s coronavirus pandemic has shifted in the past month, from Europe epicentres to the Americas, both north and south. Russia, too, has become a growing problem as the pandemic spreads from other European continental regions. In order, the US, Russia and Brazil are now the top three nations with the most cases.

In the US, at least 102,107 people have died from Covid-19, according to worldometers.com. The toll is almost twice the number of Americans lost during the entire Vietnam War.

The first known virus-related death happened on February 6 but, since then, an average of nearly 900 Americans have died every day. New York State, alone, has more cases than any other country, except Russia.

The US President Donald Trump continues to downplay the pandemic insisting that the country continue to re-open, and deflecting any blame for his administration’s late response to threats of the pandemic coming to the US.

GRAPHIC: worldometers.com

In China authorities have identified only 2 new Covid-19 patients yesterday, according to the country’s National Health Commission. Both cases were imported – one in Shanghai and the other in China’s southeastern province of Fujian. China has dropped to the 14th highest number of cases after leading the way in the first month of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Authorities in China have confirmed 82,995 Covid-19 patients to date, with 73 cases still active.

Brazil has now reported a total of 414,661 coronavirus cases as of midday, Thai time. Another 1,086 coronavirus-related deaths were reported in the previous 24 hours, according to the country’s health ministry, taking the national toll to 25,598. The ministry said 20,599 new cases were also confirmed in the past day.

At the start of May there were only 92,000 cases in the South American country with cases now creating a major public health headache for the country. The issue of lockdowns and restrictions has become highly politicised in Brazil with the President Jair Bolsonaro deflecting all responsibility for the coronavirus crisis, casting blame on mayors, governors, an outgoing health minister and the media.

In South Korea authorities have identified 79 new novel coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the most in a single day since April 5. 68 of the latest cases were locally transmitted, the majority in the capital Seoul.

The South Korean Health Minister says 54 of the patients identified yesterday were traced to an IT and logistics centre in Bucheon, a satellite city 25 minutes from Seoul.

“It’s possible that the Bucheon cases are linked to a cluster identified in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul, but the investigation is ongoing.”

4,150 people connected to the latest Bucheon cluster are now under quarantine. 83% of them have been tested, the rest will be tested today, according to authorities.

Russia now has a total of 414,661 cases. Meanwhile the “Head of coronavirus information” has suggested that global anxieties over the Covid-19 pandemic is “misplaced”, his latest controversial statement after saying the infection “would kill as many people as it needs to”.

Alexander Myasnikov, a television doctor, was appointed in April to the role of informing Russians about coronavirus treatment and prevention and to battle “fake news” about Covid-19. After earlier describing Russia’s reported low death rate a “Russian miracle,” Myasnikov responded last week to the rising cases and deaths saying “those meant to die will die”.