WEB DESK
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the Coronavirus pandemic across the globe, with the US bracing for its darkest hours after its death toll surpassed China’s yesterday.
In a matter of months, the virus has infected more than 800,000 people in a crisis redrawing political powers, hammering the global economy and transforming the daily existence of some 3.6 billion people who have been asked to stay home under lockdowns.
Deaths shot up again across Europe yesterday as Spain, France and Britain reported their deadliest days. While there are hopeful signs that the spread of infections is slowing in hardest-hit Italy and Spain, more than 800 died overnight in both countries.
France joined it with a surge to 3,525 deaths, an official toll that includes only those who died in hospital and not those who died at home or in old people’s homes.
Meanwhile the US which has the highest number of confirmed infections reached a bleak milestone as deaths topped 3,400, ticking past China’s official tally of 3,309, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.
With more than 175,000 infections in the United States, three-quarters of Americans are now under some form of lockdown.
The staggering economic and political upheaval spurred by the virus is opening new fronts for both cooperation and conflict. Last week G20 leaders said they were injecting 5 trillion USD into the global economy to head off a feared deep recession.
In the European Union, however, battle lines have been drawn over the terms of a rescue plan to finance the expected severe economic fallout. The economic pain of lockdowns is especially acute in the developing world.