USA 530K+ Spain 160K+ Italy 150K+ France 130K+ Germany 125K+
US fatalities 20K+
There are mutterings here and there about gradually easing restrictions, but this virus is highly contagious and deadly. Letting life return to ‘normal’ too soon would have catastrophic consequences.
The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is closed for Easter for the first time since 1349, which was when bubonic plague swept the world. An estimated 25-50 million people perished in that pandemic. Most churches around the world have closed and are holding online services, but in a few parts of the US, church services are going ahead. One preacher said, ‘God commands us to meet and that’s what we’re going to do.’ Another Evangelical pastor commented, ‘God will shield us from all harm and sickness.’
I guess they are expecting some kind of divine intervention. Ignorance and stupidity is fairly widespread on planet Earth among the human population and it’s costing people their lives. Even common sense can be a pretty rare commodity. My wise Pisces grandfather, George Finey, always used to call it, ‘uncommon sense’.
It’s hard to believe that it’s only been one month since the World Health Organisation declared this pandemic. So much has changed. The world is a very different place.
More than 200 countries are now infected with coronavirus. Infection numbers here in Australia continue to decline and there are now 28 countries with more cases than Australia. Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Japan and Poland now have more cases of COVID-19 than Australia. We must be doing something right in managing the spread of infection, but we’re also very lucky that Australia has no land borders. There are more than 1,200 people infected in Victoria, but there were only three new cases reported in our state yesterday. Despite the low number of new cases Premier Daniel Andrews has sensibly extended social distancing restrictions until at least 11 May.