ISA Coronavirus Update (28th of May)
Daily Summary
The number of new cases of the coronavirus being diagnosed around the world continued to slowly accelerate as a result of the rapid increase in the number of cases being found in regions such as Latin America, East Europe, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
The total number of global coronavirus cases reached 5.8 million, while the total number of fatalities rose to more than 357,000. Nearly half of the known fatalities have been found in Europe, while around one-third have occurred in North America.
Brazil has overtaken the United States as the country where the most new cases of the coronavirus are being diagnosed. Brazilian health officials warned that the death toll from the pandemic in that country could rise to more than 125,000 over the next three months.
Indonesia, home to 270 million people, had until recently, largely been spared from the worst impact of the coronavirus pandemic. However, that country’s most-populated island, Java, has seen a major increase in the number of cases in recent days, particularly in its two largest cities, Jakarta and Surabaya.
Key Developments
The Dreaded Second Quarter: For most major economies, the second quarter of this year is expected to be the period in which their economies suffer their greatest losses, with many leading economies forecast to shrink by 20%, 30% or even more during the current quarter.
The Debate Over a European Recovery Fund: The European Commission proposed the creation of a €750 billion ($825 billion) economic recovery fund for European Union member states impacted by the pandemic. However, this plan faces opposition from some wealthier northern EU member states.
Trend to Watch
Universities, high schools and primary schools around the world continue to face an uncertain situation has they plan for the 2020-2021 school year. Fears of a second wave of the pandemic later this year has made planning for the coming year very problematic.
The Coming Days
The South Korean government has warned that it might be forced to reintroduce social distancing restrictions following a new spike in the number of coronavirus cases in that country. Most of these new cases were centered around a logistics center near Seoul.