An informed guide to the pandemic, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment. |
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 | | The New York Times |
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In just 10 months, the coronavirus has killed nearly one million people around the world. At least 3,000 new deaths have been reported every day since July. And that’s just the official count, which far understates the true tally. |
The virus has swept through nearly every corner of the globe, hitting both rich and poor countries with devastating force. |
The United States continues to lead the world in cases, with more than seven million, and added over 313,000 over the past week. But India is quickly catching up: The nation topped six million infections today, with 587,000 recorded over the past week — more than any other country. |
Developing countries are bearing much of the brunt of the virus now. In Myanmar, which had reported only several hundred cases by mid-August, infections have soared to 11,631. The nation’s testing rate is one of the lowest in the world, suggesting that the virus has been multiplying undetected, and its health care system remains woefully unprepared. |
The virus is also surging in Indonesia, which has recorded 278,722 cases, adding more than 30,000 in the past week alone — on par with hot spots like Israel, Mexico and Britain. More than 10,000 people have died, making its death toll the second highest in the Asia-Pacific region, after India. |
Their jobs are often dangerous and illegal: scavenging for recyclables amid trash, rolling cigarettes in factories, making bricks on construction sites, even doing sex work. The trend is threatening to erode years of gains in education while shattering the dreams of children and undermining their prospects for climbing out of poverty. |
For some parents, the alternative is starvation. They say the economic crisis has put them under enormous pressure to put their children to work, and they have become dependent on the few pennies that their children are able to earn each day. But even when the virus wanes, many will not return to school: The United Nations estimates that 24 million children have dropped out for good. |
India, which has the largest school-age population in the world, prohibits anyone under 14 from working in most circumstances. But the country has also struggled with illicit child labor, and workplace inspections meant to prevent it have been hobbled by the pandemic. “The whole ecosystem around kids is breaking down,” said one teacher in Bihar State. |
- The French government ordered bars, cafes and restaurants in Marseille and Aix-en-Provence to close for 15 days starting Sunday evening, prompting fury in the region.
- In England, people who do not quarantine after testing positive or coming into contact with a positive person now face fines of up to 10,000 pounds (almost $13,000) amid a surge of new cases.
- The virus is surging in one of the most rural states, Montana, where new daily cases have more than doubled in the past two weeks to an average of 250 a day.
- Colombia surpassed 800,000 cases over the weekend, just as social life had begun to return to Bogotá, the capital and epicenter of the country’s crisis.
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What else we’re following |
As the parents of triplet toddlers, we’ve found ourselves with far less time during the pandemic. One way we’ve found to break out of the normalcy and reconnect is date nights eating in the car at favorite restaurants. We bring cookie sheets to act as trays, as well as our own plates and best cutlery. We try to park in a spot with something nice to look at and just enjoy the weirdness of life right now. — Becky Sorensen, Pearland, Texas |
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