People Are Still Dying

The pic on the left shows at least 56 body bags awaiting burial at a facility at the main cemetery in Qom, Iran. Right: A grave dug for coronavirus victims in Langeroud county in Gilan province, Iran with concrete blocks to separate the bodies. Image credit: France 24

Covid-19 continues to surprise us because just when some countries thought they are seeing signs of optimism about the trajectory of the outbreak, thing have gotten worse again. 

More grief because more deaths.

On Monday, the US reached another milestone: 10,000 fatalities. 

Still, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (right) had said that in his state, the death rate had been “effectively flat” for two days. It documented 599 new deaths, similar to Sunday’s tally of 594 and down from a record 630 on Saturday. 

BUT on Tuesday, New York state recorded 731 new coronavirus deaths, marking the biggest one-day jump in the outbreak. 

It is interesting to learn that US doctors now believe that deaths in February and early March – before the coronavirus was recognized as an epidemic in the country – that were attributed to influenza or pneumonia, were likely due to Covid-19.

Meanwhile, in the UK, more than 5,000 people have died.

And France has become the fourth country to register more than 10,000 deaths. 

Spain recorded an increase in the daily death toll for the first time in five days, with 743 people succumbing overnight. 

By far, Italy has the highest toll of any single country in the world, with more than 17,000 fatalities so far. 

These statistics are more than just numbers. As Cuomo had said: “…Behind every one of those numbers is an individual. There’s a family, there’s a mother, there’s a father, there’s a sister, there’s a brother”. 

Covid-19 has now affected 209 countries and territories. Worldwide, the number of people diagnosed with the virus now exceeds 1.4 million and over 80,000 have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

The true numbers are almost certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different rules for counting the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.

For most people, the virus causes mild to moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. It’s only among some people, especially older adults and the infirm, where they are struck down with pneumonia. 

Still the fact of the matter is that most people who contract Covid-19 recover; in fact, many may never notice they had it at all. From the coronavirus tracking, more than 300,000 people have recovered worldwide todate. 

Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay positive.