ISA Coronavirus Update (14th of July)
Daily Summary
After rising to new daily record-highs in recent days, the number of known coronavirus cases around the world now stands at 13.3 million. Meanwhile, the number of new official fatalities from the pandemic has held relatively steady over the past two months and the total number of known fatalities is now 576,000
The number of new cases of the coronavirus in the United States continued to break records in recent days. A majority of these new cases are being found in the southern part of the United States, but many other parts of the US are also seeing an increase in the number of new cases. This has been due, in large part, to the reluctance of many people in the US to maintain social distancing measures.
The number of coronavirus cases in South America continued to rise at a dangerous pace, not only in hard-hit Brazil, but also in countries such as Argentina and Colombia that had so far not suffered as badly as many of their neighboring countries. Meanwhile, the number of fatalities from the coronavirus in Latin America overtook that of the US and Canada this week.
Israel was faced with a new surge in the number of coronavirus cases in that country, with nearly 10,000 new cases of the virus being found in Israel over the past week. Meanwhile, there were a number of protests in recent days over the Israeli government’s handling of the pandemic.
Key Developments
Singapore’s Dreadful Second Quarter: In the second quarter, Singapore’s economy contracted by a record 12.6% on a year-on-year basis, or by an incredible 41.2% on an annualized quarter-on-quarter basis. The country’s service and construction sectors suffered massive declines during this period.
Central Asia’s Quiet Pandemic: While relatively few details regarding the coronavirus pandemic in Central Asia have been released, it has been reported that the number of cases of the virus in that region have soared in recent weeks, overwhelming the region’s hospitals.
Trend to Watch
While testing levels for the coronavirus have risen steadily across much of North America and Europe, they remain woefully inadequate in other areas that are being hit hard by the pandemic, including Latin America, South Asia and Africa.
The Coming Days
China will be releasing its eagerly anticipated GDP results from the second quarter of this year later this week. This data is expected to show that the Chinese economy returned to growth in the second quarter, but at a very subdued level.