2nd March

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has now spread across 180 countries with approximately 860,000 total confirmed cases worldwide. The US is the most-heavily affected country in the world with 190,000 confirmed cases followed by Italy and Spain.

The epicenter of this pandemic has started to shift from Europe to the US. However, most of the deaths are still reported in Europe with Italy (12,500) and Spain (8,500) representing approximately 50% of total deaths from COVID-19 worldwide.

As Europe has seen a surge in cases, majority of the countries in Europe are now in lock-down, prohibiting all non-essential travel.

Cases are also starting to rise in South East Asia, Africa and Latin America with serious concern whether their health systems are prepared for this pandemic.

Bishal Bhandari, PhD, senior epidemiologist, GlobalData