Analysis: The pandemic is galloping and the gaps are growing with it

The situation seems most worrying in Latin America where about four million infected have been registered and over 200,000 people registered dead as a result of the virus. The virus center is galloping on and worst in Brazil. The country accounts for about a quarter of all registered infected and a quarter of all deaths. At the same time, President Bolsonaro, who has constantly played down the dangers of the virus, has encouraged a gradual opening of the economy. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warns of the consequences of not seeing any reduction in infection and the statistics are unreliable.

PAHO also believes that the virus is affecting the region's migrants worst and wants increased testing, especially in the Mexico-US border area. It is also pointed out that Chile, one of the most developed countries in Latin America and which, in addition, took strict measures already early, in the last two weeks has seen a steep increase in the number of cases. Winter is also on the rise in South America, and many fear more serious cases of covid-19 infections.

Another continent that may be heading in a similar direction is Africa. Admittedly, the cases are fewer, but the dark numbers are probably significantly higher and the testing capacity even lower. Here, the World Bank has focused on calculating the financial consequences of the pandemic. Nearly 60 million people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, according to the bank. Many years of growth, which among other things has meant a growing middle class in several countries, which in turn has driven the economy further, risk turning to a negative economic spiral. Millions of people who until recently had stable jobs with stable incomes and who saw their children study, thus risk poverty rather than the future.

In India, over half a million have been infected following the world's toughest restrictions, as the country in principle closed to 1.3 billion inhabitants. The most affected were the poorest and migrant workers. Prime Minister Modi, however, has deemed it necessary to reopen the country to boost the economy. The World Bank says that for the first time in over 20 years, global poverty will grow again. Half a billion people can end up in poverty mainly because of the pandemic. 

So the gaps between different parts of the world grow as the pandemic progresses. Admittedly, the virus is indiscriminately infected, but it is already clear which ones are hit hardest: the weakest groups without safety nets or reserves. Many talk about the need for a kind of Marshall Plan to lift economies that would not otherwise rise on their own. The support packages in the richer part of the world are huge buffet tables compared to the crumbs of weaker countries' governments think they can bet. But because a weaker section of the population is also affected in the richer part of the world, governments first look to “theirs” and at the same time save for more waves of infection and even greater unemployment. Gaps also grow rapidly in already unequal but very rich communities. The United States already has a quarter of all recorded deaths in the world - and is just one of several countries where the correct figure is likely to be much higher, according to the country's health experts.