Both in Basel city and Zurich, it is required to wear a face mask with the objective of reducing COVID-19 transmission. The country flattened the curve but as soon as it began to reopen, the cases started to go up again. The cantons of Geneva, Vaud, and Zurich are the most affected as can be observed in the previous graph.
A couple of days ago Eurostat released a preliminary report of the GDP growth rate in the EU and Euro zones. It's not surprising, but the COVID-19 situation and the required mitigation measures have taken a toll on the economy in Europe. The report discussed how "Seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 12.1% in the euro area and by 11.9% in the EU, compared with the previous quarter,". The graph above shows this dramatic trend.
The US has more than 3.7 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 and is therefore the country with the highest number of those in the world. What has been in the news lately is how states that rushed to reopen as quickly as possible, such as Texas and Florida, have had a steady and exponential increase in the total number of cases.
Next to California, which has also seen a sharp increase in the number of cases, mainly in Los Angeles county, those states are getting closer to matching the numbers of New York. It feels like a cautionary tale that "going back to normal" won't mean the pre-COVID-19 normal until there is an effective vaccine or treatment in place.
Fortunately an mRNA vaccine trial preliminary report in the NEJM stated the vaccine induced anti–SARS-CoV-2 immune responses in all participants, and no trial-limiting safety concerns were identified. Crossing our fingers for the next phases of those promising results.
There have been a few articles in the news lately discussing how the current occupant of the White House is losing ground against his democratic rival including: The remarkable collapse of Donald Trump's polling numbers and States that Trump won easily in 2016 are looking tight for him in November. The news is not surprising, given the horrible COVID-19 numbers in the USA, its economic impact, and the wave of protests against police brutality. The data from RealClearPolitics seems to confirm this trend.
Brazil has unfortunately become one of the new epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world. A recent editorial at The Lancet describes how Brazil is the country with the highest rate of transmission (R0 of 2·81), based on the data compiled by a study conducted at the Imperial College of London.
The title of the editorial ("So what?") summarises the biggest problem the country faces dealing with this disease, and that is the response (or lack thereof) of its president Jair Bolsonaro. His disdain for a vast proportion of the population suffering from this disease is outrageous, but not surprising.
Boa sorte Brasil, você vai precisar!
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