ISA Coronavirus Update (31st of August)

Daily Summary

The number of worldwide coronavirus cases surpassed the 25 million mark last weekend, while the number of fatalities linked to the pandemic now stands at 850,000.  The average number of new cases being discovered around the world continued to hover at around 250,000 per day.

India now has far more new cases of the coronavirus than any other country in the world. To date, 3.6 million cases of the coronavirus have been discovered in India, with the actual number likely being much higher.  Nearly 65,000 have died in India as a result of the pandemic.

The number of new coronavirus cases being diagnosed in Argentina continued to rise in recent days, with more than 66,000 new cases being found there over the past week.  This brought the total number of cases of the coronavirus in Argentina to 408,000, while the total number of fatalities in that country is now 8,457.

France emerged as the epicenter of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, with 35,000 new cases of the coronavirus being found in that country over the past seven days.  According to the country’s health ministry, France was facing an “exponential” increase in the number of cases, something that occurred in the southern United States earlier this summer.

Key Developments

Latin America Pays the Price: The number of fatalities from the coronavirus in Latin America is now more than 300,000, 50% more than either Europe or North America. At the same time, Latin American economies are suffering some of the worst effects of the pandemic.

More Pandemics to Come: Scientists are warning that as human settlements continue to spread into areas currently occupied by animals, and as wildlife trafficking continues to increase, the potential for more disease outbreaks spreading from animals to humans will rise.

Trend to Watch

Anti-lockdown sentiment is rising in many areas of Europe, as evidenced by the large protests that took place in Berlin last weekend. Many of these protests are being organized by far-right political groups hoping to capitalize on growing lockdown fatigue.

The Coming Days

India dramatically-poor second quarter GDP results that were the result of the severe lockdown that was put in place in the country where just the latest in a series of poor economic results from what was expected to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.