Fast and furious: Countries that rushed to unlock economy now fear second wave of COVID-19

USA is one of the worst-affected countries in the world, but the people just decided that they were over the pandemic. The government, too, reopened the economy. This led to a rapid surge in the number of positive coronavirus cases. The situation has reached such a state that the US reported 53,000 cases in a single day.

Germany started reopening its economy in April. However, the government regretted the decision later as the cases increased to 195,674 and the death toll now stands at 9,003.

South Korea was one of the first few countries to unlock its economy and embrace the new normal. However, things turned scary as a new coronavirus outbreak described empty streets, deserted shops, and a climate of fear, as a surge in confirmed cases linked to a church raised the prospect of wider transmission.

Australia unlocked its economy before its neighbour country New Zealand. However, Victoria, the second most populous city in the country, saw new clusters of infection which raised fears of s second wave. To stop the spread of the virus, the government has decided to reimpose lockdown.

The British government on Saturday confirmed the existence of two cases of the Omicron variant in the country. The two people are now self isolating. 

UK had banned flights to South Africa after authorities revealed they had discovered the B.1.1.529 variant. 

Israel started unlocking its economy in the beginning of May, and as the cases increased, the government declined any plans of reimposing another lockdown. 

This led to more than 100 cases being reported from one Jerusalem high school, followed by quarantine of hundreds of people who had come in contact with a minister.

China, the country where the first case of coronavirus was reported, reopened its economy in phases. However, new clusters of coronavirus were found in the country in various cities in the last month. 

This was labelled as the second wave, which is now decreasing again. The country is under a partial lockdown in few areas now.