A Year After Wuhan, There’s No End in Sight of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the lockdown in Wuhan, when China got to grips with the outbreak of the coronavirus at its source. In the year since, Covid-19 has killed more than 2 million worldwide. Almost 100 million people have been infected, with many still suffering ill health months later. Governments have imposed restrictions on travel, closed borders, shuttered workplaces and schools and confined families to their homes. They are running up hard against the limits of what their populations are prepared to shoulder to fight the disease. Countless businesses, from neighborhood stores to international airlines, are going to the wall, unemployment is surging and economies are stumbling, kept afloat only by massive fiscal stimulus that must some day be accounted for. And that’s just in the rich world. Yet the past year has also seen the rapid development of vaccines able to combat the virus. The race is now on to roll them out to the most vulnerable before more infectious new strains overload hospitals. It’s going to be close: Hong Kong is going into its first hard lockdown, and the lunar new year risks a further explosion of cases in many parts of Asia. In the U.S., which has the highest number of deaths, newly installed President Joe Biden has urged the nation to assume a “wartime” footing. Indonesia and Mexico reported record cases. U.K. restrictions may stay in place until the summer. European leaders are warning against any hopes of a quick recovery. Recriminations are already being aired. The question is whether they will dominate or relief will be delivered. We may not know for another year. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake