Depending on the containment measures being taken and the seriousness being exhibited, the Covid-19 is spreading at different rates across the world.
While some countries have successfully managed to control the virus, others are struggling. Going by the hits and misses, the subject of development economics may very well undergo a change.
The time being taken for positive cases to double is a clear indicator of how successful a country has been in dealing with the virus.
Also Read: COVID-19| Race against time as countries try to develop vaccines
Here’s a look at how India is faring vis-à-vis some other countries on that count:
India
It took India close to a month (30 days) to go from 600 cases to 21,000 cases. While this is a cause for concern, India is performing better than many other nations. India’s data reflects that the virus multiplied by over 35 times in 30 days. This is considered to be a peak period of the virus in India.
An effective community tracking system, strict enforcement of lockdown measures and an increased testing capacity has ensured that India, whose doubling rate has now touched around 10 days, is one of the better performing countries across the globe.
The State of Kerala and the Union Territory of Chandigarh have the best doubling rate in the country, way above the national average at around 67.2 days and 45.7 days respectively.
United States of America
In comparison to India, the US took exactly 11 days to move up from 600 to 21,000.
Further, their woes didn’t stop there as it took them exactly a week to witness a ten-fold increase in their total positive cases from 5000 to 50,000. The week from March 17-24 appears to have been a week of complete disaster as it was during this period that the cases jumped from 5,000 to 50,000.
As on April 24, the US had over 800,000 cases. This means that in the past month, the cases have increased over sixteen-fold.
Amidst these numbers, many states such as Georgia have expressed gone ahead and lifted measures related to the lockdown. The US could be headed for a massive disaster if it rushes in to remove lockdown restrictions.
Italy
It was on January 29 that Italy detected its first case of the virus. They managed to quarantine the Chinese tourist.
However, as of March 11, the nation had the largest number of cases outside mainland China. It had more than 12,400 cases.
As of April 23, this number stands close to 190,000 cases.
Italy was one of the first few countries to ban all flights to China. Still it witnessed an explosion of cases.
Lax social distancing norms followed by the people and the government’s reluctance to enforce a lockdown are the reasons behind the worsened situation in Italy.
Taiwan
It was the first nation to detect the virus and has less than 500 cases presently. Taiwan has been the slowest ever increase in cases the world over.
The island nation detected its first cases on January 15.
The nation swung into immediate action and set up dedicated centres to deal with the virus, cut all forms of travel to China and used the mass media to disseminate information pertaining to the virus.