World Coronavirus Dispatch: The pandemic forced countries to look inward

Treatment gets delayed for cancer patients in Italy, Facebook bans Australian celebrity chef over conspiracy theories, and other pandemic-related news from around the globe

How UK scientists tracked down the new virus variant

Starting late September, the southern part of England was seeing an unsually rapid rise in infections even as the remaining regions were beginning to see a dip. Puzzled by it, scientists sought to find if there was any super-spreader event that leading the trend, but only to discover later that was not the case. A new variant, 70 per cent more transmissible, was detected in early December. The new variant links back to an outbreak in September after scientists turned to an expert team that was monitoring genomic sequencing in the country. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 78,725,345

Change Over Yesterday: 696,992

Global deaths: 1,731,115

Nations with most cases: US (18,465,883), India (10,123,778), Brazil (7,365,517), Russia (2,905,196), France (2,562,615).

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center.

In Italy, treatement for cancer patients is coming too late

Treatment of many life-threatening diseases has taken a backseat around the world as hospitals are swamped by coronavirus patients and Italy is no different. The rising second wave of infections is derailing the treatment of cancer patients. From diagnosis to surgery, everything is being delayed. Shortage of doctors and nurses, as many fell sick battling the coronavirus on the frontlines, is making the matters worse in the country. Many patients are arriving late for diagnosis and for some, the delay is proving deadly. Read here

Facebook bans Australian celebrity chef over conspiracy theories

Facebook has banned Australian celebrity chef Pete Evans, with over one million social media followers, from the platform for repeatedly spreading conspiracy theories with no evidence on the virus and vaccines. The social media giant said it would not “allow anyone to share misinformation about Covid-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm” or falsehoods about vaccines. As nations start rolling out vaccines, the hesistancy is growing by the day. Authorities are designing unique campaigns to build public trust including celebrity vaccination in public among others. Read here

Specials

Long Read: Learnings for business during coronavirus

Businesses had to deal with too many unknowns this year. However, the raging pandemic meant that they had no option but to adpot, overhaul and review their strategies according to many new normals including hybrid working, cost cuts among others. The crisis is far from over and it is almost certain that at least the first half of next year will be the same. As vaccination programmes may take time to contain the coronavirus, businesses have to prepare themselves for more uncertainities. Read here

The pandemic revived an old dream: Self-reliance

As the pandemic dented global trade, many leaders around the world resorted to old mantra of self-reliance. From Ghana to France, leaders indicated that the virus offers an opportunity to make their countries manufacturing powerhouses, that make them less dependedent on others. Global supply chain disruptions resulted in severe shortages of various products including the crucial medicial equipment. The pandemic has dealt a severe blow to international trade, and many countries are looking inward to make up for the shortages. Read here