Global Economic Giants Continue to Struggle With COVID-19

Rabat – Some of the world’s most economically powerful countries continue to struggle with high levels of new daily COVID-19 cases. Data by the WHO reveals that many of the world’s top economies appear to have not brought their COVID-19 epidemics under control.

WHO data show Morocco recorded roughly four thousand new COVID-19 cases over the past week, with 655 new cases reported on Friday, according to the Moroccan Ministry of Health. While these numbers are not sufficient to declare the local epidemic as fully under control, they stand in stark contrast to COVID-19 figures in some of the world’s most prosperous nations.

The US in particular continues to struggle with the virus as vaccine uptake has become a contentious political issue further dividing the politically-fractured nation. The US reported 112,980 new cases over the last 24 hours, after a week that averaged roughly 100,000 new cases a day. The United States currently faces a cumulative death toll of 703,599 due to the virus.

Brazil similarly struggles to control its epidemic, fueled by a COVID-19 skeptical president in the South American nation. Although Brazil’s epidemic is slowly declining, the country recorded 117,421 new cases over the past week, raising the domestic death toll to 599,359. Meanwhile, a group of doctors presented a 10,000-page report claiming their hospital chain has been structurally hiding COVID-19 related deaths. 

In Europe, the United Kingdom remains the hardest-hit country, with 239,354 new cases recorded over the past week, despite having had the highest rates of vaccinations for months. Vaccination efforts in the UK appear to have reached a plateau as several European nations have since surpassed the UK’s vaccination rate.

In mainland Europe, most nations continue to record new cases in five digits on a weekly basis, with Germany reporting 56,188 new cases this week. On Europe’s periphery, Russia and Turkey continue to struggle with their epidemics, reporting 181,808 and  203,266 new weekly cases respectively.