Coronavirus deaths over 30,000 in Europe: Lessons from developed Asia ignored
Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis emanating from Wuhan in China is devastating nations in Europe. This obviously applies to the number of deaths. However, the economic angle, utter over-stretch of countless health care systems, unemployment, collapsing companies, loneliness, and other ills are all creating a nightmare.
In the nations of France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom the collective death toll is 30,000. Meanwhile, other nations including Belgium and Sweden are showing mounting stress signs. Therefore, it is abundantly clear that the deaths will continue to mount in the following weeks.
Italy and Spain have witnessed over 22,000 deaths already and the numbers will continue to increase. Meanwhile, other European nations are increasingly facing the start of their respective nightmares.
In relation to Europe, the BBC reports, “Italy remains the worst-affected country, with a total of 105,792 confirmed cases and 13,155 deaths. Spain has 102,136 cases and 9,053 deaths. However, Italy has seen the daily rise in infection rates fall to less than 3%, well down on a few days ago.”
It seems that Europe was asleep to the threat of coronavirus even when signs looked increasingly dangerous. Hence, when coronavirus spread to nations like South Korea much should have been learned. Similarly, Taiwan is a model for different reasons because this nation took countless measures to protect the people of this nation. However, despite South Korea declaring the need to focus on testing and monitoring – and other important areas – nations like the United Kingdom did little.
The Guardian reports, “Most western countries did little, apart from developing a modest testing capacity – apparently gambling on the disease being contained elsewhere, as previous threatened epidemics, including Sars in 2002-03 and more recently Ebola and Mers, had been.”
For elderly people in care homes in areas that have been hit hard in France, Italy, and Spain then many alarming statistics exist. For example, in the region of Paris, roughly a third of care homes are struggling with coronavirus. While reports from Spain have mentioned the elderly being abandoned in care homes. Likewise, with many hospitals being over-run in Italy and Spain, then doctors and nurses are focusing more on younger individuals when respective hospitals are facing critical situations. This sad reality is being replicated in other European nations once the death toll and infection rate grows.
The BBC reports, “Few of the cases in France’s retirement homes are ever tested for the virus, once an initial outbreak has been confirmed. But day after day, stories are emerging of double-digit death tolls inside these institutions, now virtually shuttered from the outside world.”
Dutch News stipulates, “A further 447 patients have been hospitalized in the Netherlands due to the coronavirus outbreak, while 134 more people have died, the public health institute RIVM said in its daily update.”
In Italy, the current worst hit nation in the world in terms of deaths is a grim reminder that early mistakes can soon overwhelm. Thus, it is surprising why the majority of European nations didn’t learn from Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan before the coronavirus endangered Europe. Similarly, when Italy faced mounting deaths the leader of the United Kingdom believed you could “take it on the chin.” Therefore, with more deaths increasing each new day then why were positive angles emanating from highly developed Asian nations ignored?
Hence, the sad reality is that the coronavirus hit Italy and Taiwan only one and a half weeks apart. Yet, despite Taiwan being naturally linked to China based on geopolitics and strong economic ties, it is Italy that his blighted by the coronavirus crisis. Thus, in Italy, you now have over 13,100 deaths compared to Taiwan which is currently five.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52094491
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