ISA Coronavirus Update (6th of August)

Daily Summary

The number of worldwide coronavirus cases reached 19 million this week, but the number of new cases being discovered around the world has plateaued at a little more than 250,000 per day over the past two weeks. Global fatalities linked to the pandemic have risen to more than 711,000.

Three countries (the United States, Brazil and India) account for more than half of all of the cases of the coronavirus in the world, and more than 40% of the fatalities linked to the pandemic.

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Mexico reached 49,000 this week, resulting in that country overtaking the United Kingdom to have the third-largest death toll in the world from the virus.

The number of coronavirus cases in South Africa passed 500,000 in recent days and now stands at 529,877.  The official death toll from the pandemic in South Africa is now 9,298, although the real number is probably far higher.  53% of all of the official cases in Africa have been diagnosed in South Africa, as have 42% of the continent’s official fatalities.  

A recent investigation revealed that the Iranian government has recorded nearly 42,000 deaths from the coronavirus in Iran, far more than the official figure of 17,802.  In addition, the government’s official data indicates that the number of people that have been infected by the coronavirus is nearly 70% higher than the official number of 317,463.

Key Developments

Economic Disaster: The GDP results that have been released so far for the second quarter have been largely as bad as expected. Europe and Mexico have come off the worst so far, with the United States economy also suffering its worst result since the Great Depression.

Russia’s Vaccine Claim: Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko announced that Russia’s health authorities were planning a mass vaccination against the coronavirus beginning in October 2020, with medical personnel and teachers receiving the first vaccinations. 

Trend to Watch

Latin America overtook Europe this week to become the region that has suffered the most fatalities during the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, the number of cases of the coronavirus in countries such as Colombia and Peru has risen sharply in recent days.