According to recent reports, western countries show a decreasing rate in the number of coronavirus cases and even deaths. Scrutinizing the data that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control complied in the past week, several European countries seem to experience relief in the numbers. Although the total of infections has reached 2,501,907 cases and 171,741 deaths on April 21, the curve appears to deflate.
The rate at which people get infected slowed down, and social distancing is considered to be responsible for this absurd good news. It is absurd to call it good news while people are still dying. But good news it is.
In the UK, on April 13, 717, people died because of coronavirus. On April 20, people were still reported to be dying of the same reason but at half the rate. When comparing 717 with 449, it becomes a reason for the hope that the number of victims might continue to decrease.
Coronavirus seems to be flattening the curve in Europe
In the week that passed between April 13 and April 20, the number of deaths kept rising to more than 800 until April 19, when they fall significantly. For two days in a row, the curve went significantly down. Professor Anglea McLean, the deputy chief scientific advisor, described the new rate as “pretty much stable and flat”. Still, it is too early to consider it to be permanent.
The UK isn’t the only nation experiencing this sort of relief. Italy sees it for two weeks now. At the end of March, there were 919 deaths in just one day. On April 19, the number had fallen to 433.
The United States isn’t there yet. The numbers are comparable to the ones that were recorded ten days ago. The only sign of evident decrease seems to occur in New York, where only 631 deaths due to coronavirus were reported on April 20.
