ISA Coronavirus Update (13th of April)

Daily Summary

The number of known cases of the coronavirus (Covid-19) around the world rose to nearly 1.9 million, while the number of fatalities from the virus rose to 115,000, continue the steady upwards climb of both figures.

The number of new cases being found in the United States has levelled off in recent days, raising hopes that the US had reached its peak in terms of this wave of the pandemic.  There are now more than 560,000 cases in the US, and over 22,000 fatalities.

Russia, which acted very late in attempting to slow the spread of the coronavirus in that country, has seen a sharp increase in the number of new cases of the virus in recent days.  At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin has largely been out of the public eye.

The number of new cases of the coronavirus being reported in China rose in recent days, with nearly all of the new cases being imported into the country from neighboring Russia.  108 new cases were discovered in China yesterday.

The first case of the coronavirus was discovered in Yemen last weekend, raising fears that the virus would quickly spread across that war-torn country and would overwhelm its ill-equipped healthcare system.  Yemen is already suffering from outbreaks of cholera, malaria and dengue fever.  

Key Developments

India Extends the World’s Largest Lockdown: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government would extend the total lockdown on India that it imposed last month for an undisclosed amount of time.  The initial lockdown announcement caused chaos across India last month.

Oil Production Cuts: As the demand for oil has plummeted during the crisis, OPEC member states and Russia were finally able to agree on production cuts.  A new deal that was reached last weekend will result in oil production being cut by 10% over the next two years.

Trend to Watch

Recently, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen indicated that lockdown measures for elderly people in the European Union would likely have to last much longer than for younger people, perhaps well into 2021.