Brace for a landscape changing for the worse
Dear Sir,
Bermuda may not be changed significantly by this pandemic, if the contagion doesn’t reach critical mass, but Europe, China and North America have already changed in ways that will affect the island, which most Bermudians already realise.
One very troubling developing news story: China’s death toll is now purported to be closer to 42,000 not 3,200.
So that could mean that Italy and Spain deaths tolls — 14,681 and 10,935 respectively and counting — appear to be less than half of China’s thus far.
If the World Health Organisation confirms the new death toll as accurate, as reported from Wuhan, China, the likelihood of US deaths reaching tens of thousands is high based on worldwide patterns.
China, Italy, Spain and Iran have been Covid-19 hotspots while Germany, South Korea and Russia appear to be leading the way in proactive measures to stem the infections and death tolls.
India is challenged by its 1.2 billion population, a woefully inadequate healthcare system and deeply embedded poverty. The sheer logistics of tracking India’s population for virus infections is an ongoing mammoth task worthy of Alphabet’s Google AI.
China, the world’s leading producer of medical products from, face masks to ventilators, is just rebooting manufacturing once again. Meanwhile two leading haute couture brands in Italy have switched from fashion designer handbags, gowns, shoes and accessories to making face masks, completely reinterpreting their manufacturing focus overnight.
The previously mentioned countries lead the world in one way or another, ie, population growth, manufacturing, economic dominance, oil production, textile and architectural innovations, nuclear aggression and/or deterrent, and they will change the world as Covid-19 has changed each country inexplicably.
And that, in turn, will change Bermuda.
VALIRIE MARCIA AKINSTALL
London, England