July 21, 2021, COVID-19 Update – The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases now exceeds 188.6 million (12% of increase as compared to the previous week) and the number of deaths has surpassed 4 million, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) figures. A total of about 3.4 billion vaccine doses have been administered.
June 30, 2021, COVID-19 Update – Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases now exceeds 180.8 million and the number of deaths is close to 4 million.
June 16, 2021, COVID-19 Update – Last Monday, June 14, there were more than 175 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally and almost 3.8 million deaths. The number of new cases reported has declined for seven weeks in a row, being “the longest sequence of weekly declines during the pandemic so far”.
May 20, 2021, COVID-19 Update – More than 160 million confirmed cases and around 3.4 million deaths due to COVID-19 have been recorded worldwide. However, new cases and deaths have been slowing down recently, thanks to the progress of the vaccination campaigns and containment measures.
May 5, 2021, COVID-19 Update – Continuing with the upward trend of new infections, global COVID-19 cases surpassed 150 million. Last week, around 80,000 new deaths were recorded worldwide, a stark reminder that the pandemic is far from over. To date, more than 1.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, at a ratio of 19 million jabs given each day.
April 21, 2021, COVID-19 Update – The COVID-19 pandemic continues with its rising trend. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), global new cases have been rising for nearly two consecutive months, reaching a total of 141 million reported cases and causing more than 3 million deaths. India, the US and Brazil have experienced high caseloads, accounting for around 40% of last week’s total infections worldwide.
April 7, 2021, COVID-19 Update – It’s been another week marked by rising infection rates and deaths worldwide, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Europe and the Americas continue to account for the majority of the new infections. So far, more than 127 million cases and nearly 2.8 million deaths have been recorded.
March 24, 2021, COVID-19 Update – With more than 126 million confirmed cases and 2.7 million deaths, the COVID-19 pandemic is still sweeping throughout the world. Several countries, especially in the EU, have strengthened restrictive measures, in an attempt to curb rising infection rates.
March 10, 2021, COVID-19 Update – The coronavirus pandemic continues, having infected more than 115 million people and killed 2.5 million worldwide, while the global vaccine rollout attempts to curb the spread of the virus. Lockdowns and restrictions set to minimize the infection rates around the globe continue to have a substantial impact on international trade and travel.
Febraury 24, 2021, COVID-19 Update – The world is currently withstanding a new wave of COVID-19 infections, as the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 111 million people and killed more than 2.4 million globally since late January 2020. The efforts taken by many countries to mitigate the pandemic led to entire nations enforcing lockdowns, widespread halts of international travel, interruptions in trade and supply chain disruptions.
February 10, 2021, COVID-19 Update – About a year ago, the WHO declared public health emergency of international concern over the outbreak of the COVID-19. So far, the pandemic has infected more than 105 million people worldwide. As per the latest IMF World Economic Outlook, vaccine approvals have raised hopes of a turnaround in the pandemic. However, the surge of new variants of the virus, as well as new waves of the pandemic, pose concerns for the outlook. Under this uncertain scenario, the global economy is projected to grow 5.5% in 2021.
January 27, 2021, COVID-19 Update – The global number of new COVID-19 cases is rapidly increasing. Despite the negative statistics of both infected people and those who died because of the pandemic, mass vaccination campaigns continue worldwide. Several countries imposed or toughened restrictions in order to curb down new infections, which may be caused by new COVID-19 strains.
Shipping costs have risen alarmingly due to delays and lack of containers, presenting a serious risk to the ability of economic recovery.
January 13, 2021 COIVD-19 Update – Several countries began mass vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 in December. The WHO announced that vaccines give real hope of bringing the pandemic under control by the end of 2021. However, strict lockdowns and other containment measures are still in place, as several regions reported an increase of COVID-19 cases.
December 16, 2020, COVID-19 Update – Despite the recent approval of COVID-19 vaccines in the UK and in the US, the pandemic is far from over: Most countries are reporting spikes of new cases, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. Some European countries have tightened restrictions in order to avoid the spread of the virus. Consequently, the upcoming holidays are expected to include restrictions in several regions.
December 3, 2020, COVID-19 Update – The G20 Leaders’ Summit highlighted the impact of the pandemic as well as possible coordinated solutions to mitigate its negative consequences. Several nations reported a rising number of new infections, which have seen countries around the world impose new restrictions in recent weeks. However, the significant progress on vaccine development, together with other public health measures, raises hopes of ending the pandemic.
November 12, 2020, COVID-19 Update – Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 50 million, and the worldwide death toll is over 1.25 million people. The worst hit regions are the Americas, with over 21.7 million cases, Europe, with over 13.3 million, and South-East Asia, with over 9.5 million confirmed cases.
October 28, 2020, COVID-19 Update – Global COVID-19 cases have recently surpassed 40 million. The worst affected countries are the US, India and Brazil. Several nations in the northern hemisphere, such as the US and most EU countries are reporting further containment measures amid an escalation of new cases. However, Australia, South Korea and Singapore are expected to ease some restrictions.
October 14, 2020, COVID-19 Update – The WTO reduced the size of global trade contraction in 2020, as lockdowns are globally easing and economies reopening. However, several countries such as China, France, India, South Korea, Spain or the United States are reporting an increase of new COVID-19 cases, and some countries announced further measures to contain the spread of the pandemic.
October 1, 2020, COVID-19 Update – Several countries are opting for local restrictions in the most hit areas, as opposed of strict lockdowns nationwide. The IMF has urged countries to enhance global cooperation and multilateral coordination as the most effective tools to beat the pandemic and its economic impact.
September 16, 2020, COVID-19 Update – Several countries are facing spikes of COVID-19 cases, although it looks like the number of new infections has decreased globally. There are still travel restrictions in place and, to ease them, the United Nations has urged G20 countries to agree on a common criteria in their removal and to boost coordination in preventive measures, among other recommendations.
September 3, 2020, COVID-19 Update – Curfews, travel limitations and other restrictions are still in place in many countries in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. The top priorities of governments and international institutions are: finding a cure, mitigating the effects of the disease while ensuring people’s livelihoods, and avoiding harder socioeconomic impacts.
August 4, 2020, COVID-19 Update – The COVID-19 is still dominating headlines every day, and amidst all the uncertainty it seems that the challenge will not be disappearing soon. The World Health Organization states that the outbreak still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
July 20, 2020, COVID-19 Update – Despite certain improvements to the public health situation in some regions, there is concern as COVID-19 cases spike in certain countries. The economic and social situation is still uncertain.
July 9, 2020, COVID-19 Update – The COVID-19 seems to be under control in some countries, despite certain spikes in infections in some regions or states, while other countries are reporting rises in the number of coronavirus cases.
June 25, 2020, COVID-19 Update – Lockdown and curfew measures have been globally de-escalating and most international borders are gradually reopening. However, new waves of infections have been detected in some countries. According to OECD, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the most severe economic recession in nearly a century.
June 10, 2020, COVID-19 Update – The unprecedented recovery plans announced by several countries are expected to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, a few countries have lifted almost all restrictions due to the improvement of the public health situation. However, the WHO has highlighted the importance of food safety amid the outbreak.
May 28, 2020, COVID-19 Update – As the public health situation improves globally, several countries continue to relax lockdown and social distancing rules. Consequently, the economy is slowly recovering from disruptions and losses caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. However, FAO warned that famine could be a serious concern in several regions.
May 14, 2020, COVID-19 Update – The challenges faced worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic are still visible, as well as the measures in order to adapt or re-adapt in the fast-changing environment of the pandemic. The efforts made by different governments, communities, companies, and people are significant to mitigate the effects of the disease.
April 30, 2020, COVID-19 Update – The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still noticeable in the global economy and disrupting agricultural trade due to measures such as border closures and export bans, as well as because of restrictions of movements of people and workers. However, some countries are easing the measures in order to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.
April 17, 2020, COVID-19 Update – As the COVID-19 situation continues to develop, this update highlights governmental actions taken to alleviate the pressure of COVID-19. This update also includes news on subjects ranging from IMF Global Growth projections to the importance of worker safety in the food industry.
April 9, 2020, COVID-19 Update – Although restrictions are becoming stricter in many countries, governments have prioritized the food supply chain as part of emergency measures. Fortunately, the agri-food sector is recognized as an essential sector and efforts are focused on ensuring food security. This update contains measures taken by individual countries as well as the European Commission.
The information above is a review of actions the INC has compiled from government sources and international organizations. This news article is not intended to be exhaustive and it does not reflect the opinions of the INC. While the publishers believe that all information contained in this publication was correct at the time of publishing, they can accept no liability for any inaccuracies that may appear or loss suffered directly or indirectly by any reader as a result of any advertisement, editorial, photographs or other materials published in this news article.