New Delhi: The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate countries across the world — the latest count being over 2.77 crore cases and more than 9 lakh deaths.
Japan has changed the way people attend concerts with the socially-distanced ‘drive-in’ concerts, Brazil’s healthcare system is under immense pressure due to Amazon forest fires and UK’s pandemic response is going to cost its public a whopping £210 billion.
ThePrint brings you the most important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic and why they matter.
Pandemic changes the way Americans shop for groceries
According to The New York Times, Americans are spending much more in a grocery shop than they have done “in a generation”, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Grocers in the US witnessed eight years of projected sales growth in just one month, notes the report.
“Shoppers began by building bomb-shelter pantries. Then came a nostalgia phase, with bowls of Lucky Charms and boxes of Little Debbies offering throwback comfort. Soon, days were defined by elaborate culinary stunts, sourdough starter and kombucha clubs,” it adds.
So far, the US has recorded 65,14,231 cases of Covid-19 and 1,94,032 deaths.
Also read: US-China showdown over tech & big data can reshape global economy for decades
Japan introduces ‘drive-in’ concerts
‘Drive-in’ concerts is one of the most popular ways in which entertainment involving large crowds is back after the Covid era in Japan, reports The Japan Times.
“In an instant, the parking lot is transformed into a scene from a nightclub, replete with lights and special stage effects. Fireworks are set off on the finale of the two-day festival, which included some 220 cars and about 550 participants,” states the report.
“Before entering the concert grounds, organizers carry out temperature checks and guide people to their respective parking spaces. Drivers are asked to turn off their engines and urged to keep their distance from other cars,” it adds.
Japan has recorded 72,234 cases of Covid-19 and 1,377 deaths.
First Covid cases reported in Syrian refugee camp in Jordan
The UN Human Rights Commission, in a statement Tuesday, revealed that two Covid cases had been confirmed in the Azraq camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan. While these are the first Covid cases to be reported in the refugee camp, Jordan has reported 2,581 cases of the virus so far.
According to a report in Al Jazeera, “Azraq is home to about 40,000 Syrian refugees, while the larger Zaatari camp in Jordan houses around 80,000. Jordan hosts a total of more than 650,000 Syrian refugees, most of whom live outside of camps. At least four Syrian refugees living outside the camps in Jordan have tested positive, with three of them recovering.”
UNHCR spokesman Mohammad Hawari said the two patients were transferred to an isolation centre on the Dead Sea. Those who were living with them, as well as their neighbours, were moved to an “isolation zone” inside the camp, and everyone who had contact with them is being tested.
Also read: Singapore’s 3 lakh poor migrant workers are still locked up while others move freely
Amazon caught in ‘cross-hairs’ between Covid & forest fire
The Amazon forest is once again on fire. However, this time these fires, which are leading to breathing difficulties for people living around the area, paired with the Covid-19 pandemic are exerting immense pressure on “scarcely resourced health centres” in Brazil, reports BBC.
“While transmission rates are showing early signs of slowing across Brazil, the virus is still coursing its way through the deep interior of this massive country. But the problems in the Amazon are bigger than just Covid-19 and they will not go away overnight – these communities are on the front line, living in the cross-hairs of both the virus and the fires,” says the report.
Brazil, which is the third worst-affected country in the world, has recorded 41,65,124 cases of Covid-19 and 1,27,517 deaths.
Covid-19 poses an ‘ecological disaster’ for Asia
Takeaway food in plastic containers, disposable plastic bags and throwaway masks have generated extra waste during the pandemic and environmentalists note that this surge in waste can prove to be a “catastrophe in the making”, reports South China Morning Post.
“With an estimated 129 billion face masks — most commonly made using the thermoplastic polypropylene — and 65 billion gloves used globally every month, waste management is becoming a growing challenge for cities dealing with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic,” says the report.
Also read: Xi takes a victory lap over China’s success against Covid as pandemic rages around the world
UK’s Covid bill mounts to £210 billion
A spending watchdog has revealed that the UK government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic will cost the public £210 billion.
The Guardian reports, “Equivalent to almost a quarter of the government’s annual budget for running the public sector, making welfare payments and investing in infrastructure, the £210bn sum, the NAO said, was the office’s latest cost-estimate of the government response.”
The United Kingdom has witnessed a fresh surge in cases in the past two weeks and it has recorded 3,52,560 cases of Covid-19 and 41,586 deaths, so far.
What else we are reading
How the ageing immune system makes older people vulnerable to Covid-19: The New York Times
Some of the first GTA students have gone back to school in the age of Covid-19. Here’s how the first day went: The Toronto Star
Also read: ‘Very big surprise coming up’ – US could have Covid vaccine in October itself, Trump says