Covid-19

*Please note, the information is correct on the 16 June, 2020. As this is a live pandemic, information, data and statistics are likely to change.

The COVID-19 started at the very end of 2019 in Wuhan, China. The virus is a new type of coronavirus, called COVID-19. To find out more about this virus, click here.

The startling aspect to this pandemic was the rate at which it spread globally. Almost every country is or has been affected, and almost all of the world has experienced some form of restrictions to keep people apart.

As many countries have had to put in some form of lockdown to keep the virus from spreading, there have been huge economic impacts on many countries. Lots of people lost their jobs, and unemployment rates reached very high. Much of the economic downfall is being related to the Great Depression, as people cannot go out and boost the economy. Many governments are having to give relief to the economy, which can lead to a large amount of debt.

In many large countries, the rate of infection and deaths has been horrific. It is also suspected that the death rate may not be entirely accurate in some countries, as some deaths have not been linked to the disease.

As of the date mentioned at the top of this page, there have been 7,924,527 confirmed cases and 434,367 deaths globally. Belgium has the most deaths per capita, with United Kingdom second. Chile has the highest number of confirmed cases per capita, followed by Peru and the United States. Overall, however, regardless of population, the United States has the greatest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

As there is no vaccine for this virus yet, there seems to be little hope of it stopping before this is introduced. Some countries have experienced second waves, which seems to be a trend likely to occur frequently.