Friday April 10, 2020 ~ GLOBAL
by Mary Brooke, B.Sc. ~ West Shore Voice News
Several months now into the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus around the globe, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) statistics for infection with the disease at April 10, 2020 (Report #81) show a tally of 1,521,252 confirmed cases (up from 1,436,198 on April 9 and 1,353,361 on April 8) and 92,798 deaths (up from 85,522 deaths on April 9).
Of that death tally, 7,277 are recorded new in the last 24 hours, so the spread is still very much on. Compared even to world war death tolls, the numbers are staggering.
The most rapid spread of infection in North America is in the United States with 425,889 confirmed cases today and 14,665 deaths (up 1,925 in the last 24 hours); New York City is currently an intense hot spot where people are dying so quickly they are being buried in mass burial grounds because there is no room left in morgues. On the west coast, Washington State has been an epicenter, causing concern for Canada (for BC in particular).
Canada by comparison (with a population size that is about 10% of the USA’s) has 19,759 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (up from 18,433 in one day) and 461 deaths (up 60 from the day before).
Think about that. If 60 people died in your own town in one day, you would really feel the impact and fully believe the urgency. Somehow the sheer rapidity and magnitude of the pandemic situation still seems not fully absorbed at a personal level. We are still as a country in collective shock — evidenced by people still not physically distancing, or still seen going out to parks and public spaces against the warnings of public health officials.
It should be noted that the strategy for testing varies from province to province in Canada, and between countries around the world. So at this point, rates and comparisons are some disparate (i.e. like comparing ‘apples to oranges’). But the raw numbers do tell their own story.
Lockdown and States of Emergency:
Different US cities and states have different levels of emergency or lockdown, and in Canada all provinces are in some state of emergency. Canada for over a week now has restricted the travel of people from the United States into Canada to just essential (cargo and transport) and casual visitors or tourists are not allowed at this time. This past week BC beefed up its self-isolation requirements of people arriving at the Vancouver International airport and land border crossings, an effort to ensure that Canadians returning from outside of BC are doing a 14-day self-isolation.
COVID-19 in BC:
In BC there is an official state of emergency and as a society we are effectively on lockdown through a mosaic of measures issued by the Public Health Officer. This Easter Weekend will be a long one — not just being a traditional ‘long weekend’ of four days, but in terms of activity restrictions.
British Columbians are being asked to stay home in self-isolation and to maintain physical distancing if they do need to go for essential reasons. BC Parks are closed, and people are reminded to keep the 2-metre/6-foot distance if going outdoors in their own neighbourhood for some fresh air. Travel to remote communities is strongly discouraged, as smaller towns may not have the hospital infrastructure to handle a COVID-19 case or outbreak, and frankly the reduction of vehicle traffic reduces the potential impact on first responders including paramedics at this time.
Global review:
The most rapid spread of infection in Europe has been in Spain and Italy in recent weeks, with Germany, France and the UK still battling the spread.
While Italy had the most rapid rate of infections and deaths for a while, Spain surpassed their neighbour over a week ago. The number of cases in Spain on April 10 is 152,446 (up from 146,690 in one day) with 15,238 deaths (up 683 in one day). That’s more deaths in one day in Spain than we’ve seen overall in Canada so far.
Italy today showed 143,626 confirmed cases (up from 139,422 since yesterday) and 18,281 deaths (up by 612 in one day). France saw 1,339 deaths in one day yesterday, and the UK (where even the Prime Minister is in hospital with COVID-19) saw 881 deaths in one day yesterday.
Where early restrictive movement was brought in (such as in Israel and Norway), the death count is relatively low: 9,755 cases in Israel with 79 deaths, and in Norway there have been 6,160 confirmed cases with 88 deaths.
The original epicenter for COVID-19 (where the virus first emerged in December 2019) was China, where new cases slowed down a few weeks ago and life is beginning to return to a new version of normal. Today their tally is 83,305 (up from 83,249 yesterday) with 3,345 deaths (up by only one in the last day).
A tested and available vaccine against COVID-19 is not expected any time ahead of Fall 2021.
However, clinical trials are coming as soon as this month in Canada using plasma exchange that contains COVID-19 antibodies from people who have now recovered from the disease. Recovered patients may be contacted to participate, said one infectious disease physician on CBC News today.