There’s so many things to think about coronavirus. But the fact that it has finally hit mainstream international sports means that it won’t be going away. Initially one of the reactions was to play without fans in the sports arenas. But then athletes are now getting infected. Initially, just footballers (unsurprisingly) in Italy got infected. But today, it has finally hit NBA basketball right into the core, with a player infected, soon after making not so smart jokes (in retrospect) about the virus. Expect economies to crash.
Anyways, here’s a map showing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. What’s interesting is the fact that despite the ease of international travel, the spread of the virus is not fully homogenous. Countries other than China with the highest number of infections (in descending order) are Italy, Iran, and South Korea. What fascinates me is: why? Only South Korea is truly next door. Does it have something to do with the climate? Genetic predisposition? To me the international public health control measures feel late (it’s always a balance); if it’s as easily infectious as it seems to be, I expected much more countries to have been affected already. And Malaysia, with its stream of mainland Chinese tourists, is lucky to not have as many cases. And no deaths. Let’s not jinx this.
What’s also (darkly) humorous is the fact that the Diamond Princess cruise ship is considered as a “country”.
