The world is enveloped in COVID-19, some developed nations are at the risk of declaring themselves bankrupt. Italy, Iran and Spain for sure are in trouble with many other countries if action is not taken sooner and effectively. The deaths caused by the virus are unprecedented and unseen in recent human history. This is a terrible jolt to the humanity as a whole. The virus has spread to all countries except Antarctica.
Want the latest on any country check - https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/iran/
World leaders are responding to the Corona situation based on their own understanding of the virus and its potential impact on their economies and scalability of their health care systems. Most countries are sourcing a variety of health care aids, suits, masks, gloves, hydroxychloroquine etc to respond to this challenge. It is fair to say no country is up to face this challenge on its own.
Chinese leadership as expected kept the virus a secret till the issue went out of hand. They managed to get it under control through heavy measures against their citizens, they also kept key information away from the world. The Chinese wall against information sharing shifted the problem to the rest of the world. Their public servants kept giving incorrect numbers to their own government and to the world. Transparency and China do not go together. It is a repeat of their failure in handling SARS, Bird flu epidemics. Meanwhile they let many travelers in and out of Wuhan for weeks after the virus was detected. One estimate says 5 million people moved in and out of Wuhan before they locked it down. As of April 3rd we are hearing that there are 3 more deaths related to Corona in Wuhan. China is not yet out of woods and their leadership is in trouble. There are reports that some CPC members are unhappy with Xi Jinping and some letters are doing rounds asking to unseat him. One can say the Chinese have failed their people and the world in providing leadership in managing a critical health scare.
Italy has one of the worlds best health systems but Corona showed that health care infrastructure could not meet up the challenge. Italy is currently in a lock down and is expected to open up in April some time. The northern regions of the country Lombardy etc have been most affected by the outbreak. 85% of infected patients are in the region which is home to 92% of deaths so far. But the virus has been confirmed in all 20 regions of the country. Italy's leadership responded to the challenge very quickly by banning flights from China but experts say that the virus may already have spread within the country. it is said that Italy's testing has been meticulous. Some quotes on Italys situation -
" These measures may have been undermined however as Flavia Riccardo, a researcher in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Italian National Institute of Health, told TIME that coronavirus could have been present in Italy before the first cases were diagnosed. Riccardo said: ‘The virus had probably been circulating for quite some time.".
"Some have argued that Italy’s high proportion of elderly residents has been a factor, with Professor Massimo Galli, the director of infectious diseases at Sacco hospital in Milan, quoted in The Guardian as saying: ‘Italy is a country of old people.". Italy seems to just have a lot of bad luck too.
Iranian leadership already struggling under US sanctions messed up handling the Corono out break. Iranian leadership took their own time to respond to the situation and yielded to its clerics by not locking down major religious sites which were at the epicenter of the virus. These blunders have made Iran a major exporter of the virus. Already on a weak wicket due to sanctions Iran is struggling to get out of this challenge. Instead of seeking help Iranian spiritual head Ali Khameni is busy throwing abuses at the US. Iranian leadership was indecisive at a crucial time and helped spread the contagion within the country.
Read this article on Iran -
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/03/iran-used-to-be-better-at-handling-epidemics-then-came-coronavirus-119651
India's response to the Covid-19 challenge has been quick and decisive. Though the peak is yet to be seen the measures taken by the government in declaring quarantine measures, People's curfew and a 3 week naionwide lock down seem to be working. The country's leadership deeply aware of the fragile healthcare infrastructure put emphasis on stopping the virus spreading through strict social distancing measures etc. A fine example of leadership under pressure the country's Prime Minister is rallying the population to come together to face the challenge. Though the economic impact of the lock down is devastating the more serious health care threat had to addressed first. Read this article on India's response -
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/interviews/indias-response-to-covid-19-has-been-pre-emptive-pro-active-roderico-ofrin-who/articleshow/74907802.cms
US is now the leader with the maximum number of infection cases. Its response led by President Trump is confusing. Trump hates markets going down, he measures his success with Dow and Nasdaq going up and up. He is finding it frustrating that he needs to take hard steps like lockdowns etc which will impact businesses. He continues to waver. Leadership is being provided by New York Gov Andrew Cuomo and California Gov Gavin Newsom. Both of them are taking the issue head on and steering their states towards safety. Meanwhile President Trump with his eyes on the November election perhaps for once and at a most important time of his presidency is indecisive.
The response of the Spanish leadership the Covid challenge is said to be cavalier. The leadership responded late and clumsily - read this - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/spain-coronavirus-response-analysis
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