2020 was a year that will go down in infamy as a year filled with disasters. However, the highlight would be the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic affected billions of lives throughout the world and left a lasting impact on the economic, political and social spheres. Every nation felt the effect in one way or another. The pandemic was something that nobody saw coming and as such, the capability of nations to overcome this hurdle despite the pressure was monumental. Countries around the world dealt with the pandemic in various ways and as we look back now, how they were dealt with is something that would go on to define the fundamentals of the nation and its government.
There have been over a hundred and fourteen million cases worldwide and a staggering 2 million-plus deaths. The worst-hit country was the United States of America with over 28 million cases and 516,000 deaths. Next on the list was India with 11 million followed by Brazil with 10 million. The virus initially broke out in Wuhan in China and soon spread over the entire world. Parts of Europe, especially Italy and Spain, were among the worst-hit countries at the initial stages of the outbreak. Countries like India, UK and the USA soon witnessed increasing cases due to negligence among the people. Despite repeated advice and warnings from bodies such as the WHO, people continued to ignore these guidelines. Certain countries even went to the extent of not having enough room in hospitals to treat the patients. As no country had ever prepared to face this sort of an outbreak, the infrastructure of every country was pushed to the limits as the hospitals ran out of beds and ventilators in the ICU. The initial stages saw very few cases, as there weren’t a lot of tests being conducted, but as the number of tests increased, it was evident that the virus had already gone beyond the scope of control.
Despite the general crisis faced by all nations, certain nations adapted to the situation better than others. This was due to the able and rational approach of the governing body towards the situation and its responsible citizens. Healthcare workers and frontline workers all over the world started risking their own lives by spending countless days and nights in hospitals to take care of and help the covid-19 victims. However, a major role was played by the Government and the Health Ministry of those countries as they had the responsibility of taking decisions regarding the funding and future planning to tackle the issue at hand.
First, let's take a look at the countries that have been successful in curbing the pandemic and declaring themselves Covid-19 free.
1. On the 8th of June 2020, New Zealand announced that the last of its coronavirus patients had recovered with its health officials saying there were no active cases of Covid-19 in the country. The Pacific island nation reported just over 1500 corona patients, including 22 who died.
The country had enforced a strict lockdown for nearly seven weeks, during which most businesses were shut and everyone except essential workers had to stay at home.
2. Tanzania’s president claimed that his country is free of coronavirus because of the power of prayer. However, the claim came six weeks after the African nation stopped publicly updating virus data. Tanzania’s number of-19 cases had been stuck at 509 for six weeks. Opposition figures have estimated that cases could be in the tens of thousands.
3. The Vatican said on June 6 that there were no more cases of Covid-19 within its population after all its 12 patients recovered. The city-state did not report any deaths.
4. Fiji declared itself free of coronavirus in the first week of June after all 18 people who had tested positive recovered from Covid-19.
5. Sixty-nine days after its first reported Covid-19 case, Montenegro declared itself coronavirus free on May 24, the first European country to do so. It reported 324 confirmed cases of COVID-19 illness and nine deaths.
6. The island nation of Seychelles claimed virus-free status as early as May 18, right after its health ministry announced full recoveries. It reported 11 confirmed cases but no deaths.
7. The West Indies nation of St. Kitts and Nevis became coronavirus free on May 19 when all its 15 confirmed Covid-19 patients reportedly recovered. The government said all cases had travel history.
8. The island country of Timor-Leste declared itself Covid-19 free on May 15 following the recovery of its 24th and final confirmed case. The country did not report any death from the virus.
9. The Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea declared itself free of the coronavirus on May 4. It had 24 cases of Covid-19 and no deaths from the virus.
However, a lot of nations face the pandemic even today. The virus is still present in almost every part of the world, but the focus has slowly shifted from Asia to Europe and then America. The actual number of cases is unknown everywhere. The first case of coronavirus was identified in the Chinese province of Hubei. Though the area was locked down, the virus still spread to the rest of the world. Soon after the outbreak in China, the virus spread to other Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore and Thailand. But it was Europe and then the Americas that ultimately became the worst affected regions. Although France was the first to identify cases, Italy soon became the first hotspot in Europe. Spain, Belgium and the UK, which has since become the country with the highest number of deaths in Europe, followed similar trajectories. However, on the 26th of April 2020, the focus shifted to the USA. The USA became the centre of the pandemic with the highest number of confirmed cases in the world. The Covid-19 situation in the US has turned grim, despite vaccination drives occurring regularly.
The world’s largest country also has the fourth-highest caseload of Covid-19. Russia, which last August, claimed to have developed the world’s first vaccine against Covid-19, called Sputnik V, has a death toll of 85,000.
There have been cases of the second wave in countries such as China, the UK etc. However, a lot of countries still believe that pretending the virus is gone will help in solving the problem. This is especially seen in India where the number of tests conducted has gone down, thus leading to a lesser number of positive cases. India is in the middle of what experts believe to be a second wave. Unfortunately, the attitude of the government and the people is a let down to those who value their lives. India has encouraged the reopening of schools and colleges during this time and has decreased the funds allocated for testing at the same time. This continued approach of relaxing all regulations just because of the vaccine will only lead to a well established second wave.
In conclusion, it doesn't matter who was the worst hit or who walked away unharmed. If the government made a mistake or if the people did, they know. The world knows. Nobody was prepared for this, but it did and while some deliberated, others stood up and dealt with it. When the dust settles, it all comes down to who we are. Though divided geographically, we are united in our ties that we define by being there for one another in times of need. Some countries may lack the funds or the infrastructure. Some may have an abundance of vaccines while others may lack the basic facility for the admittance of a patient. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is that there will always be tough times ahead, but we will persevere. Nations will come together to help one another to achieve harmony and overcome perils.
Article by-
Ashutosh Rao
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