World: 1.2 million
USA: 310K+
New York State: 110K+
Australia’s chief Medical Officer, Brendan Murphy, says the actual number of coronavirus infections worldwide could be five to ten times more than the one million cases so far reported. Testing around the globe is not as widespread as it is here. In Australia, one percent of the whole population has been tested, which doesn’t sound like much, but this is one of the highest rates per capita in the world.
The Spanish Flu pandemic (1918-19) is thought to have killed around 20 million people across the globe, though some estimates say the death toll was much higher. Back then the population of planet Earth was under two billion, today it’s around four times that. Yes, we have better health care today than back then, but not everywhere, and in the face of a pandemic, it’s not possible for everyone to get treatment even when it is available. Given we have four times as many people on Earth now and we have been travelling around the world in far greater numbers, this virus has probably spread more swiftly. Assuming the same mortality rate, it’s possible that more than 80 million people could die from COVID-19 if no vaccine is found in time. It could take 12 or 18 months for a vaccine to be developed.
Some countries will eliminate this virus before others, and when they do their borders will probably remain shut for quite some time. Local communities will have to work together in different ways to support one another during the recovery process. All kinds of new businesses and inventions are likely to be created to service community needs. This is already happening. The news today is that drones are being deployed to disinfect public areas. They can get into small spaces and can cover a large area in a short time span. Discussions are underway with state and local governments to deploy these disinfecting drones where needed.