Global Coronavirus cases have passed five million, according to the latest figures by Worldometer, a monitoring website.
The total number of deaths from the deadly virus is 325,156, however, 1,970,979 people have recovered from the highly infectious virus.
Ghana has recorded 6,096 of the coronavirus disease after 178 new cases were recorded barely 24 hours after the country recorded an increase of 183 cases.
19 more recoveries have also been confirmed, according to figures from the Ghana Health Service, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,773 but the death toll still stands at 31.
With more than 1.5 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, the United States accounts for nearly one-third of all infections worldwide.
Even in terms of cases per capita, the US is one of the worst affected countries in the world, with one in every 220 people testing positive for coronavirus.
As the world’s largest economy, this has inevitably had a major impact on the global economy.
Border closures and lockdowns have forced businesses to temporarily close and world trade to virtually grind to a halt. Projections from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that economic growth won’t just slow down in 2020 but will actually shrink.
Despite the Covid-19 coronavirus originating in China, the world’s second-largest economy will be spared the worst effects of the pandemic.
IMF figures suggest that the Chinese economy will avoid negative growth, unlike the UK, Euro area and the US.
How COVID-19 started
On New Year’s Eve 2019, Chinese health authorities reported dozens of mysterious pneumonia-like cases in the central city of Wuhan. Several days later, researchers confirmed that a new virus had emerged – though it would be several weeks before its devastating impact began to be realised.
Within a month of the outbreak, the World Health Organisation declared a global health emergency and named the new strain of Covid-19.
Less than five months after the first recorded cases, the number of confirmed cases worldwide has now passed 5 million. (The actual figure is thought to be much higher, as limited testing means not all cases are officially diagnosed.)
Lockdowns imposed by governments around the world have managed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, but they have also resulted in seismic changes to the global economy, environment, and even our social habits.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM
