Since the pandemic arrived in the United States, 218,000 people have died from COVID-19, the most fatalities of any nation across the globe, according to CNN. Going back to early March, the United States had similar numbers to most other countries. Although President Donald Trump claims he has done an excellent job fighting the virus, in the late spring and throughout the summer the cases have dramatically risen and still now continue on this trajectory. In mid-April, cases in the U.S. began to spike. The end of May saw a decrease in cases, but through the summer months and into fall, the cases have been rapidly growing.  This has resulted in a total of 8.04 million cases across the U.S. According to CNN, there are now more cases here than in any country in the world.

Part of the reason the pandemic has gotten so bad here in the U.S. is because many people don’t realize the importance of wearing masks and social distancing. During summer months people want to flock outdoors to enjoy the weather, spend time with friends, and travel or go to the beach. However, by doing this, people are not only putting others at risk, but also themselves. President Trump’s poor mismanagement of the virus has also impacted the high number of cases and deaths in the U.S. His administration has consistently downplayed the threat this virus poses to its citizens.

To compare how the U.S. is faring with this virus we can look to a few other countries like China, Italy, India, and New Zealand. The first case of Covid-19 appeared in Wuhan, China in a fish market. It continued to spread throughout China and eventually made its way across the world. According to news reports, at the start of February, the cases were growing in China. By mid-April the cases began to decrease and although the virus has not disappeared in China, they are holding at a steady case rate, not increasing or decreasing.  As of now in China, the total cases are 85,403, the number of recovered stands at 80,578 and the total deaths are 4,634. Overall, China has improved more than the U.S.  

Italy was another country that was heavily impacted by Covid-19. According to news reports, March was the highest peak for Italy with thousands of people contracting the virus everyday. In April the amount of cases decreased and continued to decrease through May. They saw a bit of a spike through late August and September. In Italy, the total number of cases so far has been 315,000, with 35,894 deaths and the number of recovered cases unknown. This is still a better outcome than the U.S. has experienced.

India is yet another country that has been heavily impacted by Covid-19. According to news reports, in March and throughout  the rest of spring, there were few cases in India. In mid-July the cases spiked and are still increasing. The total number of cases in India is 6.23 million with 97,497 deaths. The number of recovered cases is around 5.19 million. India and the United States are the top two in terms of total number of COVID-19 cases worldwide. 

New Zealand has fared better than any of the countries listed above. According to news reports, cases in New Zealand spiked at an average pace in March. Throughout spring and summer their cases have decreased with a small spike in August followed by a decrease in September. There have been 25 deaths in New Zealand. The total number of cases is 1,836 with 1,767 recovered cases. In June, for about 102 days New Zealand had eliminated the virus but after their cases spiked again Prime Minister Jacinda Adern put them under stage 3 lockdown. According to The Guardian, Trump spoke about her response and said, “New Zealand, New Zealand, It’s over for New Zealand, Everything’s gone, It’s over.” Jacinda Adern responded, “I think everyone can see that in New Zealand, we’re talking 11 cases. Where in the U.S. they have been dealing with 40,000 cases.” 

One of the main reasons the U.S. is doing so horribly with handling this virus is the lack of responsibility and poor response from President Trump. Another contributor to the virus in the U.S. is the lack of care from civilians when it comes to social distancing and mask-wearing. Many U.S. citizens hope that with the election coming up on Nov. 3, someone else will fill his seat and do a better job of handling the pandemic and our future.