According to the CDC, the earliest reported case was on December 31, 2019 in Wuhan, China (Pan, Bao, Fan, Liu & Douglas 2020). Within one month, the virus had spread rapidly to several other countries, including Italy, the United States, and Germany. The aggressive spread was partly due to the size of Wuhan (about 14 million people including full-time and transient) and its wide range of transportation, including airplanes, trains, interstate buses, and private transportation. Located in central China, Wuhan is a major hub and capital of Hubei Province, making it a horrible place for a pandemic to erupt. “The city is recognized as the political, economic, financial, commercial, cultural, and education center of Central China” (Focus on Wuhan).
Since appearing in the United States, coronavirus cases have not exhibited a negative slope at all. They have steadily increased to the current value of 11,367,214 total cases. Sixty-one percent of these cases have been recovered to healthy, leaving almost 7 million people still infected.
Global production has slowed to a crawl amidst this pandemic, causing shortages of many products. Among some of the most important shortages exist a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as medical masks, gloves, face shields, sanitizing products, and a few scary shortages of hospital beds, ICU beds, oxygen therapy, ventilators, and ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation devices used to oxygenate blood of children) devices (Shortages). Using the basic knowledge of supply and demand, these products prices were vastly increased or even sold to the highest bidder. “China made half the world’s mask before the coronavirus emerged there, and it has expanded production nearly 12-fold since then. But it has claimed mask factory output from itself. Purchases and donations also brought China a big chunk of the world’s supply from elsewhere” (Bradsher & Alderman). Figures from China Customs show that some 2.46 billion pieces of PPE had been imported in a month valued at $1 billion. The prices of PPE have risen drastically as the world rushes to get supplies. “Wholesale costs for N95 respirators … have quintupled. Trans-Pacific air freight charges have tripled” (Bradsher).
Bradsher, Keith. “A Global 'Free-for-All' to Buy and Sell Face Masks Emerges amid Coronavirus Battle.” Chicagotribune.com, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2020, www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-nw-nyt-coronavirus-face-mask-shortage-20200401-5xms3wfiirb3rewtqc3v5vhe4q-story.html.
Bradsher, Keith, and Liz Alderman. “The World Needs Masks. China Makes Them, but Has Been Hoarding Them.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Mar. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/business/masks-china-coronavirus.html.
Canada, Global Affairs. “Focus on Wuhan, China.” Trade Commissioner Service, Government of Canada, 2 Jan. 2020, www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/china-chine/market-facts-faits-sur-le-marche/96289.aspx?lang=eng.
Shortages Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 6 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortages_related_to_the_COVID-19_pandemic.
No comments:
Post a Comment