China Roars Back To Work, Even As Rest Of World Is Shut By COVID-19 Pandemic
As the rest of the world reels under the effect of Coronavirus outbreak, China seems to be on the path to recovery. Several lockdowns in the country have been uplifted and industries seem to have begun their manufacturing operations again. That, however, is a stark contrast from what other countries are going through.
The Coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to a halt as almost all the countries struggle to maintain their daily operations. Amid the global shutdown, one country has revived back from the health crisis and has started living its life as it was. Co-incidentally, this is the same country from where it all started - China.
Factories that were shutdown have started reopening in the state of China. Correspondingly, workers are returning to work and assembly lines are once again rolling to manufacture products in masses. In short, the entire Industrial complex in the country is reviving.
(Representative Image: Reuters)
There are other factors that indicate this revival. For instance, the airline industry in China has started regaining its confidence in running flights and increasing capacity. Chinese subway traffic has increased and so have the online orders. It seems like life is coming back to the state that was once the worst hit by the pandemic.
Even Wuhan, the epicentre of the Coronavirus spread, is getting back on its feet as people resume their work and leisure life in a cautious way after a two-month long lockdown. With more than 75 thousand cases recovered out of the 80 thousand plus infected and negligible new cases, China is headed back to normalcy.
Stark contrast
Just as China recovers, the rest of the world still reels under the havoc of what was unleashed on it. Most countries out of the 199 which have COVID-19 infected cases are in a total lockdown and as a result, see gigantic proportions of their economy crashing every day. More importantly, countless lives are being lost on a daily basis, and many more are put at the same risk. Only a few days ago, Spain recorded an all time high of 838 deaths due to COVID-19.
That is just one European country that shows the record numbers. Italy has been a hotbed for the COVID-19 induced deaths as to date, the country has observed more than 10 thousand deaths due to the virus and the count of number of new COVID-19 cases in the region continue to grow. Numbers in the UK, Germany and France are also rising rapidly.
Meanwhile the United States of America have crossed the record number of infected cases with a staggering total of close to 1.5 million infected people. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 also doubled within a day in the US.
An empty street in New York City during Coronavirus lockdown (Image: Reuters)
Countries like India, that are just beginning to experience the outbreak, are reeling under the effects of a total lockdown that's expected to last for another fortnight at least. Experts of the smartphone market have revealed that the sector is looking at losses of around Rs 1,500 crores. According to India Cellular and Electronics Association chairman Pankaj Mohindroo, ¡°The industry is likely to face a loss of around Rs 15,000 crore due to lockdown. This is based on the present situation. We are speaking to our members and approaching the government to mitigate the impact.¡±
While the number of those infected in India is still under control, it is needless to point out that the COVID-19 can potentially wreak havoc in the country if not controlled, simply based upon its population.
So as the world observes one of the worst health crises in human history, the country where it all began is reviving fast. Now if we take that as a cue, the rest of the world should follow the path towards recovery soon, after having paid a heavy price dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic fallout.
