ISA Coronavirus Update (17th of September)

Daily Summary

There are now more than 30 million diagnosed cases of Covid-19 around the world, with the actual number of cases suspected to be as much as ten times higher than the official number. More than 945,000 people are known to have died from Covid-19 so far during the pandemic.

There are now more than 5.1 million known cases of Covid-19 in India, with an average of nearly 100,000 new cases being diagnosed in that country on a daily basis so far this month.

The number of new cases of Covid-19 in West Europe has surpassed that of North America for the first time since May 2020 as that region finds itself in the midst of a second wave of the pandemic. France and Spain account for a large share of these new cases in West Europe.

The number of new Covid-19 cases being found in Latin America has continued to trend slowly downwards in recent weeks. However, Argentina remains an outlier as that country’s case numbers continue to trend upwards.

Testing levels have risen substantially in many parts of the world in recent weeks. However, testing levels in most emerging markets remain far too low, hindering progress in slowing the spread of the pandemic in many regions.

Key Developments

A Long Wait for a Vaccine: While political leaders are promising that a vaccine for Covid-19 will soon be available, the CDC, the WHO and many other health organizations are warning that it could take more than a year for a working vaccine to be widely available to the global public.

A Slower Recovery Than Hoped For: ISA and other economic forecasters have reduced their estimates for economic growth in 2021 as hopes for a more robust recovery for the global economy over the next 15 months appears to be overly optimistic. A more gradual recovery is now forecast.

Trend to Watch

The Covid-19 pandemic is sure to have a major impact on voting methods and patterns in the upcoming presidential election in the United States. Because of huge numbers of mail-in ballots, the result of this election might not be known for weeks after election day.

The Coming Days

Despite the rising number of cases of Covid-19 in most European countries, most governments in that region have ruled out a second full-scale lockdown, due in large part to the devastating impact that the first lockdown had on the region’s economy.