COVID Has Been Fatal. Not Only for Humanity, but Also for World Economy. Check Out the List of Countries Going Bankrupt.
Aluxers, the Covid figures change faster than our article writer punching in the letters on the keyboard for this piece… we just can’t keep up.
So, figures and numbers at the time of writing this script were correct and since our writer is not a fortune teller, we can only hope that that the numbers haven’t increased exponentially.
Let’s have a delve into the countries that are going bankrupt because of this damn virus, the countries that will take forever to recover and the countries where recovery looks like Reece Witherspoon over June to December on the Reese Witherspoon Challenge.
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Crunching the numbers is a lot of work along with dealing with the words in an article. Give yourself a break by switching to the video version of this article:
With that out of the way, let’s dive right into the article and let’s begin with no particular order:
1
Italy
An Italian paper suggests that Covid-19 has been in Italy since September 2019, which could mean that the history of the virus would need to be rewritten, and prejudice would change drastically.
Whether it started there or not, suffice to say, Italy has been brought to its knees. With close to 1.5-million cases and roughly 50,000 deaths, the latest reports suggest that the second wave is slowing down, but hospitals are critically short of trained staff to support those with the virus.
Debt, unemployment, and fear are rife amongst Italians, but with the hope of running vaccines from January, perhaps a glimmer of hope for Italy will be just what the Italians need to stay safe over the holiday season.
2
Sweden
It’s been a fall from grace for the Swedes who appeared to be the trendsetter for the herd immunity method of dealing with the pandemic.
From the onset, there were no lockdowns in place, life carried on as normal for the then 8th happiest country in the world. Fast-forward 8 months, and you have over 200,000 people infected with the Corona and around 6,500 dead.
They’ve had to introduce some strict rules and regulations. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven addressed the country and said, “All the things you would like to do, but that are not necessary: Cancel, postpone.”
The Swedes will likely take quicker to recover, but the egg on their face will be etched in history forever.
3
USA
The USA is officially number 1… except, not in the way they’d hoped. The USA is number 1 in the world with the highest number of cases… we lost count after 12 million and 260,000 plus deaths and counting.
The situation has left the country divided. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have requested emergency authorisation for the vaccine to go ahead in the US, as numbers continue to rise dramatically.
Many deaths could have been avoided had there not been delayed actions, incorrect policies in place and a general negative can’t touch me, approach.
Economically, as many as 1 in 4 people are struggling to pay their bills and have had to dip into emergency funding, retirements, and savings. One in six have borrowed money or received money from a food bank. Four out of ten people have lost their job or know someone who has lost their job due to Covid.
4
UK
The end of lockdown has been declared as December the 2nd, but let’s not get too excited, because currently the Brits are sitting at number 7 with the most infections, at over 1.5 million and 55,000 plus deaths.
The Prime Minster, Boris Johnson was quoted as saying, “For the first time since this wretched virus began, we can see a route out of the pandemic, we know in our hearts that next year we will succeed.”
According to The Guardian, the full cost of Covid for the UK is still being counted, however what is confirmed is that the second wave is pushing the UK to the brink of double-dip recession.
5
South Africa
South Africans started their lock-down journey in March with strict restrictions. No visiting, ban of alcohol and cigarette sales, everything shut for business – even the beaches were deemed unsafe.
They’ve moved from level 5 to level 1, and just when they thought freedom was around the corner, they started to get fatigued and the numbers rose drastically.
In a country where most people live below the bread line, this has crippled them.
Lines of hundreds of people snake outside post-offices so desperate people can collect roughly $23 to last them a month! Millions more are now unemployed, and many businesses have closed their doors permanently. The situation is dire. The unemployment rate has hit a record high of 30.8%!
6
Turkey
Debt is Turkey’s middle-name. Things were already tough in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been on a path of growth, at any cost. He’s jailed his enemies, seized their assets and protected those borrowing so he could finance monuments in his honour, and lets not forget his White Palace that he calls home.
To give you an idea of how many enemies he has… he has jailed over 50,000 people – including journalists, police officers, soldiers, academics and policemen.
The lira has plummeted, investors have taken their money out of the country and unemployment rate is over 10%. The virus is exacerbating Turkey’s economic woes. They have had over 460,000 people being infected and deaths of around 12,500.
7
Indonesia
What’s a $1.5 billion loan amongst friends, Aluxers? That’s what Australia are loaning to Indonesia to help get them through this unexpected economic crisis.
Foreign investors quickly dumped government bonds and the rupiah crashed.
In a country that relies so heavily on tourism, the pandemic is a huge economic blow for its people. The country has seen over half a million people infected with the virus, meaning they have the highest numbers of confirmed cases in Southeast Asia, not a milestone they were hoping for.
It didn’t help that senior members of Jokowi’s cabinet suggested herbal mangosteen juice, eucalyptus necklaces and good old-fashioned prayer for those infected with Covid.
Indonesia has officially entered its first recession in 20-years.
8
Spain
King Felipe VI is in self-isolation, the medical council wants the Covid health chief fired and almost 44,000 deaths recorded… it’s been tough going for Spain.
With Christmas and New Years around the corner, government is desperate to limit the spread, and are now planning a 6-person limit on social gatherings over the festive period.
Many industries are struggling and not able to operate. Tourism accounts for 12% of Spain’s economy, and tourism is dead. Small and medium sized businesses cannot stay afloat, and low-skilled, young and temporary workers are worse hit.
9
India
It’s no secret that before Covid, India was already gripped by an economic downturn. Promised jobs by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, have not materialized, and he’s accused of hiding the real extent of unemployment in the country.
Add bloody conflicts between minority Muslins and Hindu mobs, a public health catastrophe, mass unemployment, gender-based violence and now Covid – it’s a recipe for disaster.
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel lost his battle with Covid along with over 135,000 others. They’re almost peaking at 10-million confirmed cases in total and the IMF predicts that the recovery itself will take three years before India is back at pre-Covid-19 levels.
Covid’s wrath didn’t spare any land, not even the land of kings and sages. Check out 15 Things You Didn’t Know About India.
10
France
They’re doing everything possible to avoid a 3rd wave, France has been badly affected by the virus. There is a slight ease in their lockdown measures, with 3 steps put in place – beginning December, then around the holiday time and finally January 2021.
Even Black Friday has been moved, so there is no unnecessary gathering. They’d be far better off with Cyber Monday.
French President, Emmanuel Macron, confirmed that the 2nd wave was, “circulating at a speed that even the most pessimistic forecasts had not anticipated.” France has had close to 2.2-million infections and over 50,000 deaths. Hospitals are near capacity; many have closed because they are literally full, and the economy has dropped by 12%.
The Prime Minister, Jean Castex, is wanting France back on its feet within 18-months and has unveiled a €100bn coronavirus recovery plan.
11
Argentina
For Argentina, it was another nail in the coffin. BC – Before Covid – the peso had lost 2/3rds of its value. Government debt was 90% of annual economic output, the economy contracted by 2% from previous years and national fortunes continued to drop. Argentina owes the International Monetary Fund $57 billion!
With the pandemic, all the problems that were already there are now even worse. But where does the government get more money from? They don’t have a close buddy on their border that can give them a loan like Indo had.
Close to 1.4 million cases and 38,000 plus deaths, Argentina are now pushing for humanitarian funding.
12
Serbia
Serbians are currently experiencing the “things surely can’t get worse, but then they did” momentum. So, what do we mean?
The Serbian Orthodox Church were mourning the loss of 82-year-old Amfilohije Radovic, the church’s most senior cleric in Montenegro. He died from Covid. Corono 101, don’t remove your mask especially near someone who has Covid. There should have been a disclaimer in there though, dead or alive.
Many mourners kissed the dead body and Covid has spread quickly.
Serbia has had over 130,000 infections but their death rate is surprisingly low at just 1274 at the time of this article. There is a drop-in economic activity, particularly in manufacturing, transportation, and tourism. Over half a million people have lost their jobs but reports claim that Serbia were able to contain “the expansion of poverty.”
13
Portugal
They’re fast approaching the 300,000 confirmed cases mark and are reeling after more then 4,000 deaths… how has Portugal faired with the pandemic?
They too rely on the hotel, restaurant and tour industries to keep their economy afloat. Tourism amounts to 15% of GDP!
Ratings agency Moody’s put Portugal, Greece and Italy as the 3 countries that will have the “Greatest economic destruction” because these countries rely so heavily on small business, who don’t exactly have massive financial reserves.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, because the bicycle industry is booming due to Covid. People are opting to bike where they can to avoid trains, cabs and public transport, meaning a boom for the bicycle trade in Portugal, who are Europe’s largest manufacturer of bicycles.
14
Russia
News agencies are reporting, “packed morgues and excess deaths” which is very different to the pristine, well-managed and under control message that’s being sent out.
Russia has had over 2-million cases, yet not even 40, 000 deaths. Many suggest that the true figures are hidden, and the death toll is far higher than reported. It wouldn’t be good for Russia to report an exponential increase in deaths, especially with their Sputnik vaccine showing 95% efficacy.
To date, Russia has not had a lockdown, with authorities encouraging people to keep a safe social distance and to wash their hands.
Of course, there are huge economic losses however, if this vaccine is as effective and as cheap as they say, then Russian stocks will reach record highs in 2021.
15
Brazil
It’s been a struggle from the start for Brazil, but many deaths could have been avoided if the virus had been taken seriously from day dot.
Now, there are over 6-million confirmed cases and deaths are in the region of 170,000. The federal government blatantly ignored the facts, and when it hit, they were ill-prepared. Primary healthcare is severely lacking, funding to the most vulnerable came far too late and there were severe delays in getting essentials to certain regions.
Government now faces a $112 billion refinancing cliff early 2021.
Despite numbers increasing by almost 30,000 a day, government is blaming technical glitches or or just a temporary increase. With ongoing mayoral elections, it’s believed that restrictions are not becoming tighter to keep the popularity vote high.
But Aluxers, do you know what doesn’t make you popular? Dying from Covid 19!
Question:
How has Covid affected your country Aluxers? We value your input in the comments!
