More than 100,000 lives have been lost due to the novel coronavirus by Friday, 10th April, 2020, as per a tally by the John Hopkins University. The first death came in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Jan. 9. It took 83 days for the first 50,000 deaths to be recorded and just eight more for the toll to climb to 100,000. The total number of confirmed cases is also 1.6 million people.
However, on a lighter side, the number of recoveries is far greater than the number of deaths. As per the same tally, more than 372,000 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus.
And several severely battered countries owing to the COVID-19 are actually spreading positive messages – for example, China’s Wuhan, where the outbreak began lifted its 11 week lockdown on 8th April. Whilst it may take months for a sense of normalcy to return in the city, nevertheless, a ray of hope has emerged in the people of China.
In the US too, which accounts for more than half the global numbers, signs of hope are emerging. State officials reported the number of people in intensive care dropped for the first time, and hospitalisations were also slowing.
“In the midst of grief and pain, we’re seeing clear signs that our aggresive strategy is saving countless lives”, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday. The U.S. is hoping for far less casualties than the originally predicted 100,000 (plus) deaths.
In the UK, PM Boris Johnson is out of intensive care, and is enjoying his brisk walks – reports say.
Hope is returning to a battered Europe too – after numbers started diminishing in the past week in Spain and Italy, the worst affected nations.
The WHO too, has welcomed the signs of slowing the pandemic, however has urged people and governments of a ‘deadly resurgence’ in infections if curbs are lifted too early.
Nepal, which is currently in its third week of lockdown has 9 confirmed cases (8 active, 1 recovered). As of 10th April, 2020 had conducted 3404 tests across its testing facilities. While the number of confirmed cases in Nepal looks encouraging, worries about lack of widespread testing is also concerning. For example, in neighbouring India, which is in its third week of lockdown too, has reported a steep increase in its number of confirmed cases – 7,400 cases. As of 8th April, 2020, India had conducted around 160,000 tests, according to ICMR data.
