How Kovid-19 took over the world in 2020

Almost no place is spared – and no one.

The virus, which first appeared in Wuhan, China, a year ago, spread worldwide in 2020 and caused a stir. An epidemic has become a global phenomenon more than any event in memory. On each continent, families have experienced its destruction – unemployment and lockout, disability and death. And permanent fear.

But each nation has its own story of how it coped. How China used its dictatorial muscle to print coronavirus. How Brazil was struggling with the epidemic, however, was mocked by its president. How Israel’s ultra-orthodox ox measures to prevent the spread of the disease intensified tensions between them and their non-secular neighbors.

Thousands of elders died in Spain. Kenyans saw some as prostitutes, with schools closing and children going to work. India’s terrible lockdown brought down the rate of infection – but only temporarily and at an alarming cost.

At the end of the year, promising vaccines offer a glimmer of hope amid an infectious second wave.

“Winter will be difficult, four long difficult months,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel. “But it will end.”

Associated Press reporters from around the world assessed how the epidemic has passed in the countries where they post – and in countries where the contagion is on a two-year basis.

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The story of Kovid-19 in Brazil is the story of a president who insists on an epidemic no big deal. Jair Bolsonaro condemned the COVID-19 quarantine, saying that the shutdown would destroy the economy and punish the poor. He laughed at the “Little Flu”, then struck a fatal claim that 70% of Brazilians can’t stop getting sick. And he refused to take responsibility when many did. He poured money into the economy to ease the pain of the epidemic. But while Bolsonaro could have inspired people to go hungry, he instead encouraged them to lift local sanctions.

Go deep: The Brazilian leader scoffed and the toll rose

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Workers have returned to factory and office fees, students have returned to the classroom, and long lines are once again forming outside the popular hot pot restaurant. In cities, wearing surgical masks – although no longer required outside of subways and other crowded places – has become a habit. In many ways, normal life has resumed in CHINA, the country where COVID-19 first appeared a year ago. China’s ruling Communist Party has withdrawn some of the most successful anti-disease controls ever imposed. The challenge is the job: the economy is growing again, but recovery is uneven.

Go deep: China’s state power has crushed COVID-19

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The Germans enjoyed a much milder summer, lifting many restrictions, relying on early coronavirus outbreaks, rapid response to dividends and early and widespread testing. The number of daily COVID-19 cases dropped from a peak of more than 6,000 in late March to a few hundred in the warmer months. But the number nearly quadrupled in March’s daily record as people’s weakness in complying with the rules grew, and the country now went into a new lockdown as it tried to bring the epidemic back under control.

Go deep: Early success, growing anxiety in Germany

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1. With a population of billions, India is likely to emerge as the world’s largest recipient of coronavirus. It responded to the epidemic as early as possible with a sudden nationwide lockdown, but its numbers increased as controls eased and its terrible public health system struggled to continue. Questions have been raised about its unusual mortality rate. Concerns about India’s virus have also been multiplied by its struggling economy, which has seen its worst performance in at least two decades. Even after the epidemic subsides, it will be the most affected in the world’s major economies.

Go deep: India is struggling to save lives, economy

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Initially, Iranian officials denied Kovid-19, a growing number of infections, refused to close mosques, locked businesses and made half-hearted gestures. That was after. Here it is now: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Umani also wore disposable gloves while planting a tree for the state media, and prayed in an empty mosque in remembrance of the holy Shias of Ashora. During the year the coronavirus epidemic has only grown more in Iran, threatening day by day everyone from laborers to the upper reaches of the Islamic Republic. Now the virus is sick and has killed high-ranking officials, making it perhaps Iran’s biggest threat since the upheavals and wars since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Go further.: No longer in viral denial, Iran struggles

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When Israel moved to its second nationwide coronavirus lockdown in September, most people in the country quickly complied with the closure. But in some overcrowded areas, synagogues were packed, mourners were buried, and COVID-19 cases continued to rise. Violations of nationwide safety regulations in ultra-or-tight areas reinforced a popular perception that the community prefers to believe in science and care little about the better. He has also reacted threateningly to ripple through Israeli society over the years. Meanwhile, neighboring Palestinian-Palestinian territories – the West Bank and the Gaza Strip – are facing their own crisis.

Er go deeper: A virus spreads Israel’s religious conflict

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In late February, Italy became the epicenter of COVID-19 in Europe and a cautionary tale of what happens when even one of the richest parts of the world collapses under the weight of healthcare epidemics and disease. When the second wave hit in September, even the lessons already learned were not enough to save Italy’s disproportionately aged population from extinction. Despite plans and protocols, monitoring systems and machinery that were put in place to protect against the expected autumn invasion, thousands more died and hospitals were once again brought to a breaking point.

Go deep: Italy became the viral center of Europe

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The Kovid-19 epidemic in Japan began in earnest in February when a luxury cruise ship returned to its nearest Tokyo home port carrying passengers and crew members; Their infection erupted during quarantine. The management of Diamond Princess was criticized for saying that Japanese health officials seized the quarantine and turned the vessel into a virus incubator. Despite concerns about whether the country could survive the wave of infection in the future, Japan And the dangerous surges seen in Europe have been saved, and the Olympics are expected to take place next summer. Experts say the use of masks and border control is important to keep the Japanese castle load low.

Go deep: Mask key to keep the case load of Japan low

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They say youth is a protective factor against COVID-19. Young people in Kenya have suffered anyway. From children forced into hard labor and prostitution, to schools closed by 2021, from a child being shot by police to a curfew, to children born in desperate conditions, the effects of the epidemic in Kenya have been severe on young people. Rising economic pressures, and the intention to close schools for almost everyone in Kenya until 2021, have put tremendous pressure on children, who have suddenly lost millions. Some now divide rocks into rocks or turn to prostitution or theft.

Go deep: Kenya’s youth have suffered collateral damage

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For months, Peru earned the first terrible title worldwide in per capita COVID-19 deaths. It didn’t have to be that way. Decades of public health investment, poor judgment at the onset of the epidemic, severe inequalities, and a shortage of life-saving supplies such as oxygen have led to the outbreak of the world’s deadliest disease. Now the nation is facing a crippled, mass mourning. A recent poll found that 7 out of 10 Peruvians know someone who has died from the virus.

Go deeper: The death toll in Peru has left a tragic nation

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In the world’s most unequal country, the disease hit the poor hardest and the economic downturn pushed unemployment to 422%. But South Africa had a secret weapon: health professionals who have long fought the country’s fight against HIV / AIDS and drug-resistant TB. The country’s leaders heeded his advice on how to deal with the coronavirus, and despite many ups and downs, extremely bad conditions have yet to emerge.

Go deep: South Africa acts fast, sinks disaster

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In 2020, the Spaniards made incredible things normal just 12 months ago. But the year 2020 will also go down as the year in which an unknown virus shook the foundations of social contract and questioned a system that failed to prevent so many deaths. Politicians boasted that while 929 people were killed in a single day in that country, the system did not break down during that first wave. But health professionals will tell you that the real cost was to overworked employees who fell ill more than anywhere else in the world and suffered a huge emotional impact.

Go deep: The Spanish system fails, and the elderly die

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Americans are overwhelmed by the wave after the horrific numbers – Covid-19 deaths in 100 thousand, infections in millions. While those figures testify to a historically catastrophic tragedy, they can’t fully capture the number of routes, large and small, that the virus has carried on in everyday life and revived it. For that, though, there are a number of other numbers, some more familiar than others, but all were just saying to track the acute impact of the epidemic.

Go deeper: USA through numbers, telling and awesome

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In Mexico, the government did little, except to tell its people to act responsibly. Result: More than 100,000 deaths, a number considered underestimated. In New Zealand, the government closed its borders and closed almost everything, but all prevented a dozen deaths. The nations of the world campaigned in their response to the COVID-19 epidemic – sometimes taking drastic and weak measures within a few months or vice versa. A look at the state of the epidemic worldwide.

Go deeper: The nations gambled in their response

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On the Web: An Epidemic Atlas (http://apnews.com/PandemicAtlas )