GENEVA/TOKYO: The World Health Organisation issued a statement, on Tuesday, that the United States is at a risk of becoming the global coronavirus epicentre. This has resulted in the organizers to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
WHO warned the world about next coronavirus epicentre
Britain has also issued a country-wide lockdown to try to contain the infection rate of the virus. Data has showed business activity plummeting in Australia, Japan and Western Europe in March. The United States is expected to follow a similar trend in the near future.
The analysts at BlackRock Investment Institute has issued a statement which states, “The coronavirus outbreak represents a major external shock to the macro outlook, akin to a large-scale natural disaster.”
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The Chinese province of Hubei, where the virus was identified first in December has said that it would lift travel restrictions imposed on people who want to leave the region as the calamity slows down.
The current tally of confirmed coronavirus cases has gone beyond 377,000 patients across more than 190 countries as of Tuesday. The death toll has exceeded 16,500.
WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva that there was a large acceleration in infection rate in the United States.
Which one be the next coronavirus epicentre?
The statistics over the recent 24 hours has shown that 85% new cases of infected people were reported in Europe and the United States. 40% of these infections were from the United States.
Statistics of Monday have reported that more than 42,000 people have been infected while the death toll was at least 559.
On the question that whether the United States could be the next coronavirus epicenter Harris said, “We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the U.S. So it does have that potential.”
President Donald Trump acknowledged the difficulty.
“The World market for face masks and ventilators is Crazy. We are helping the states to get equipment, but it is not easy,” he tweeted.
Olympic organisers give in
The Japanese government and Olympic Games organizers were looking for a hope that the world’s biggest sporting event could proceed forward but they finally had to give in to the threat of making Tokyo 2020 the biggest victim of a ravaged sporting calender.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach had a call with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. After the call, the Prime Minister issued the statement that President Bach is in 100% agreement to reschedule the event for the summer of 2021
This is the first time that the prestigious event has been postponed aside from being cancelled thrice during the two world wars.
Italy has reported the highest fatality rate at around 10%. Speculations are that it reflects the older population. The global fatality rate is 4.3%
The original center of outbreak, China’s Hubei province will lift the ban on people leaving the area while other regions will tighten the command as there was a rise in imported infection
Wuhan, the provincial capital has been in total lockdown since January 23rd. It is said that it will also lift its travel ban on April 8th.
