Indian equity markets crashed over 7 per cent on Monday as the governments the world over struggle to contain the fast spreading novel coronavirus (COVID-19). In India, various state governments announced lockdown in nearly 80 districts across the country as the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases inched towards 400. 

“The vaccines will come, but we need to get out and do what we need to do now.”

“Today I have a message for young people: you are not invincible. This virus could put you in hospital for weeks — or even kill you,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“Even if you don’t get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else.”

Trade policies haven’t helped. Tariffs on medical supplies made them more expensive, and they were only lifted March 5, even though health care associations asked the administration last year to exempt items like masks, gloves and gowns. And now countries including South Korea, India and Taiwan are blocking exports of medical supplies to save them for their own citizens, leaving the U.S. with fewer options.

“The health catastrophe makes clear that we are only as strong as the weakest health system,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres