The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 caused the COVID-19. This pandemic was part of the epidemic of coronavirus disease in 2019. COVID-19 most affected the political, social, religious, financial structures, and prosperity of all countries in the world. Besides, Stock Markets pounded around the world, and prices of oil have fallen off a cliff. The researchers were unknown about the virus until it started in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
Many countries declared preventive measures, such as lockdown, shelter in place, or stay-at-home orders. COVID-19 has taken a significant toll on humans worldwide. Over 152,045,622 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the globe as of May 1, 2021, while the death toll increased to 3,194,601. The leading economies in the world are on the verge of collapse.
The common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, dry cough, tiredness. It also contains fewer common symptoms such as aches and pains, conjunctivitis, headache, sore throat, diarrhea, skin rashes, loss of smell or taste, and discoloration of fingers or toes. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Here are the top ten most-affected countries of COVID-19 with the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases.
10 GERMANY
Germany reported the first Covid-19 case on January 27, 2020. Their prevention protocols included high levels of testing, an effective containment strategy among older people, the early establishment of testing capacities, and efficient use of the country’s ample hospital capacity.
The three most populous German cities such as Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg, have been hit the hardest with this disease.
The German government imposed a contact ban on March 23, 2020, among the population to slow down the disease spread. They closed the daycare facilities, schools and universities, gyms,
museums, theaters, bars, restaurants, libraries, clubs, cinemas, shops, and stores. They open only food and health care sectors.
But, the government slowly lifted travel restrictions within and to the EU. Yet, the pandemic dynamics are unpredictable. Wearing protective face masks, keep social distancing, and avoid overseeing the number of people gathering in public spaces are the rules. Prevention measures affect businesses and industries.
Germany faced severe financial issues because of the absence of consumers and customers using their services. Also, travel restrictions on a national and international level affect finance. They also worry about reduced performance because of the possibility of more employees being on sick leave.
- Total cases: 3,392,232
- Total deaths: 83,542
- Recovered cases: 3,012,100
9 SPAIN
Spain is now the eighth position in the list of top ten most-affected countries of COVID-19. Also, it is the second most affected European country with COVID-19 currently. Spain overtook China for the first time in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases at the end of March and Italy in the first week of April. A nationwide lockdown was affecting millions of its residents.
One of the ministers in Spain contracted coronavirus, while Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma died from this disease marking the first royal death due to complications of COVID-19. Tourism is a crucial sector and the third biggest industry for Spain. Experts expected that tourism faces an adverse impact because of global coronavirus fears. The Spanish government advised many companies to request employees to work from home to avoid virus spread.
Spain faces thousands of job losses in the first quarter of the year, most of March. The rapid increase of coronavirus infections prompted the Spanish government to announce a nationwide emergency and lockdown that led many businesses to an abrupt standstill. Many tourists are now making plans to stay at their homes this summer. Spain identified the first infected person with the coronavirus on January 31.
The beginning of this disease in Spain coincided with the disease heights typical of winter, Spaniards with coronavirus, but did not suspect it and mistakenly contributed to the virus’s spread. The experts considered the actual number of coronavirus cases was much higher, as the Spanish government unlikely tested many people with only mild or no symptoms.
- Total cases: 3,524,077
- Total deaths: 78,216
- Recovered cases: 3,206,273
8 ITALY
It is one of the most affected countries of COVID-19 in Europe as well as outside Asia. COVID-19 is also the most severe crisis in the history of Italy after World War II. The mortality rate of coronavirus in Italy has been 9%, higher than that in China. It is unclear the reasons for this increased mortality.
However, the infected fatality rate may be lower due to the authorities not making the tests widespread than in some other countries. The pandemic started in northern Italy in late February. The Italian government took new measures such as temporarily closing educational institutes, screening, and suspending main community events.
They also declared the hygiene or disinfection measures at airports that might limit the virus spread, but the aged people’s population continues to be a concern. The expanding air travel with China may cause a high number of coronavirus infection cases.
The most COVID-19 -affected cities in Italy are Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Veneto, and Piemonte. The Italian National Institute of Health recommended social distancing because it can reduce the spread of the virus. It is the only European country where the government announced a nationwide lockdown since Wuhan’s coronavirus outbreak.
Italy could lose $8.3bn in tourism revenue because of coronavirus. With the entire locked-down in the country, most industries’ impact is much more profound than initial estimates. REF Ricerche projected that Italy’s GDP would fall to eight percent in the first half of the year because of COVID-19. Industries such as hotels and restaurants also have a significant fall in business.
- Total cases: 4,022,653
- Total deaths: 120,807
- Recovered cases: 3,465,676
7 THE UNITED KINGDOM
The U.K. confirmed its first COVID-19 case of infection on January 31, 2020, following France and Germany. It is also one of the most affected countries of COVID-19. The U.K. announces people not to leave the houses unless for essential needs and banned the gatherings of more than two people. They closed all non-essential stores, gyms, libraries, places of worship, and playgrounds. The U.K. declared a lockdown to control the COVID-19 pandemic on March 23, 2020.
The experts seem that the lockdown helped rein the public health crisis but took a toll on the economy. The officials reported the first death of COVID-19 UK on March 5. 24% of the U.K. workforce of around 7.6 million jobs are at risk due to COVID-19-related lockdowns. So, most people and places with the lowest incomes are vulnerable because of job loss.
They canceled airline services such as flights to Europe and other regions, including Italy, the U.K., and Albania, France, as the COVID-19 UK cases continue to increase. The U.K. advised travelers that returned from other countries 14 days before quarantining, not coming out of the homes during the incubation period, and avoiding contact with other people.
The U.K. government also advised such travelers to inform the National Health Service (NHS) of recent travel to that country. The services sector, such as hospitality, financial services, and tourism, makes up around three-quarters of this country’s GDP. The U.K. coronavirus cases surged significantly from March, making it one of the top ten COVID-19 affected countries. The Prime Minister of the U.K., Boris Johnson, also tested positive for COVID-19 on March 27.
- Total cases: 4,416,623
- Total deaths: 127,517
- Recovered Cases: 4,214,791
6 RUSSIA
Russia has the third position in the list of the top ten most-affected countries of COVID-19 in the world. Most of the coronavirus cases were in Moscow, the most populous city and economic center of Russia. The impact of Covid-19 in Russia delayed when compared to elsewhere in Europe and Asia. The officials gradually eased the lockdown in the country starting from May 12, 2020.
Further expansion of social distancing would lead to job cuts in Russia due to experts’ fears, which is the first measure to prevent coronavirus’. So, five to eight million people left without a job countrywide. The price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia leads to a dramatic drop in global hydrocarbon demand. The nation-specific restrictions like foreign national entry, the officials, barred it on March 18.
Boosting pay for the medical field workers, helping businesses restructure the loans, and removing import duty on “socially important goods” are the main economic consequences of the pandemic that the federal government takes to improve. Experts of health say the outbreak scale in Russia remains unknown due to the unreliable official statistics nature. They are instigating a list of measures aiming to prevent the coronavirus spread.
Residents should not leave their houses unless they shop, work, and have a digital permit to travel. The first coronavirus-related death in the country occurred on March 19. They postponed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and loosened their ban on foreigners entering Russia. Moreover, Russia will suspend every regular and charter flight to other countries.
President Vladimir Putin announced that the week starts from March 28 to April 5 would be a paid holiday nationwide to encourage Russian people to stay home and slow the virus spread. Additionally, the experts in Russia are now predicting the worst recession in a generation. Some critics have raised doubt on Russia’s low official mortality rate and accused under-reporting authority to play down the crisis scale.
- Total cases: 4,805,288
- Total deaths: 110,128
- Recovered cases: 4,427,946
5 Turkey
The government recorded the first case in Turkey on March 11. The early death in the country due to Covid-19 occurred on March 15. Government locked down over-65s and under-20s completely. They also imposed weekend curfews and sealed off the major cities. Istanbul was the center of this pandemic.
The Ministry of National Education announced to close all schools on March 12, 2020.
The government forced people to wear masks and keep social distancing. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca asked the people to stay at their homes unless it’s necessary to go out.
This pandemic hit the economy with full force. The economy will shrink by 3.4% this year. Moreover, some countries such as Greek, Morocco, and Saudi introduce bans for the goods of turkey.
- Total cases: 4,820,591
- Total deaths: 40,131
- Recovered cases: 4,323,897
4 FRANCE
The government confirmed the virus had reached France on January 24, 2020, when officials identified the first Covid-19 case in Europe and France in Bordeaux. The first five confirmed coronavirus cases were all individuals who had arrived recently from China. France faces structural challenges such as weak competitiveness, high structural unemployment, and increased public and private debt burdens.
France is also facing a significant recession challenge concerning the COVID-19 pandemic effect. It has affected the country’s full production capability coupled with a slowdown in global demand. The pandemic also affected the concerns regarding raw material availability. As a result, France’s manufacturing and other industries temporarily shut down their industrial operations.
New Covid-19 restrictions in France have canceled trade fairs, closed bars, and imposed more restaurant rules. The lockdown already bruised the hospitality industry earlier this year. We can see the hospitality industry is now facing new hurdles, with warnings that businesses in the sector, about 15 percent, could disappear by 2020 end.
It is now becoming the second Western European nation to do so after Spain. With the current seven-day moving average of 25,480 coronavirus cases, it is most likely one of the most COVID-19 affected countries. France will have gone to nearly the one million coronavirus cases milestone by the end of the week. So. France is one of the most affected countries by COVID-19.
- Total cases: 5,616,689
- Total deaths: 104,514
- Recovered cases: 4,539,909
3 BRAZIL
It has the second position in the list of the most-affected countries of COVID-19 behind the United States. Officials confirmed the virus spread to Brazil on February 25, 2020, when Sao Paulo brought it to this country. On March 27, Brazil announced a short-term ban on foreigners through the air, and most governors of the state have imposed quarantines to prevent the virus from spreading.
Nurses are dying faster than in any other country globally, with about 100 nurses dying from COVID-19 in a month. The country’s pandemic wave moved from rich to poor, also from the coastal to the inner cities. So, it became a significant threat to the homeless people, most vulnerable residents of slums and favelas, and indigenous and riverside communities. Moreover, it is impossible to believe that they are testing for the disease rolled out at a slow pace.
Brazil was announcing 7,500 tests per one million people, which is around ten times less than the U.S. Brazil confirmed the first coronavirus-related death on March 17. In Brazil, the Ministry of Health issued a warning to Brazilians and foreigners recommending those arriving in this country to stay in isolation for at least seven days. On March 13. Brazil’s government declared Santa Catarina’s State as an emergency state.
As preventive measures, they closed non-essential shops and services such as gyms, restaurants, shopping malls, hotels. They suspended public meetings, concerts, public transit, inter-city and inter-state buses, theatres, sports events, and religious services. The U.S. federal government provided two million hydroxychloroquine for prophylactic and therapeutic use them.
- Total cases: 14,665,962
- Total deaths: 404,287
- Recovered cases: 13,194,538
2 INDIA
India has the fourth-highest number of infections. It surpassed Spain and the U.K. Some states in India, such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, led the surge in numbers across the country. The Indian government also banned public gatherings.
Yet, testing criteria in India remains one of the world’s lowest per head of population. So, the virus tally of India is likely much higher than the official figures. Although India began a strict lockdown in late March, the number of infections also increased.
The restrictions nationwide grounded the economic activities across India, and the growth outlook severely hit. Although India took primary preventive measures like canceling passenger air transport to other countries, it could not escape from this worst pandemic that spread like wildfire in Asia. Over 70 percent of deaths were due to comorbidities, according to the health ministry.
India has a significant cultural and historical tourism that brings domestic and foreign citizens throughout the year. The officials expected the whole value chain of tourism, such as hotels, restaurants, attractions, agents, and operators, to face losses worth thousands of crores due to the suspension of visas and shutting of tourist attractions indefinitely to avoid virus spread.
There was a plunge in the consumption of fuel and a rise in LPG sales. The hospitality industry completely collapsed, and government income decreased almost. The sharp increase in unemployment mainly affected India.
- Total Cases: 19,164,969
- Total Deaths: 211,853
- Recovered Cases: 15,684,406
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1 THE UNITED STATES
The United States reported a record in all-time daily more than 40,000 infections of new coronavirus cases on June 25, 2020. They made the test more rapidly and confirmed instances of coronavirus in the U.S. increased significantly in the March 3 week. So, based on the total number of cases, the U.S. overtook China’s on March 26 and made it one of the most affected countries of COVID-19 in the world. The death toll also increased sharply.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected nearly everyone in the U.S. There is a reason to bother that this deadly disease makes an outbreak that is likely to continue to get wrong. From the first known patient on January 21 to now surpassed 2,711,956 infected, the U.S. leads the world in COVID-19 infection cases. Community spread and delayed testing were the two main concerns of the American people.
Additionally, the unavailability of enough test kits across states and ventilator shortage results in increased deaths. America increased nationwide testing significantly after March. Health officials prompted and alarmed the renewed pleas for social distancing and masks. Nowadays, youngsters are making up an account for most of the new cases.
Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas are the U.S. states with the highest COVID-19 cases. Officials reported most cases in New York state.
- Total cases: 33,103,974
- Total deaths: 590,055
- Recovered cases: 25,710,142
Afternote: Last updated on May 1, 2021. We updated this page content weekly.
