Covid 19 coronavirus: Opinion: World leaders to blame for virus surge

While lockdown was restrictive, we now have freedoms other countries do not, writes Jo Raphael. Photo / File

A lot can happen in 8 seconds.

A pit-stop in Indy Car can take 8 seconds. It's also the required length of time to qualify for points on the back of a rodeo bull.

According to the World Health Organisation, however, Covid-19 is killing one person every 8 seconds around the world.

What a horrifying statistic.

It seems as if the virus is ramping up, not slowing down.

In my view, the blame for this pandemic lies squarely on the shoulders of world leaders.

Leaders of Brazil and the United States have a lot to answer for. Their blatant neglectful handling of the virus allowed their citizens to die needlessly.

US President Donald Trump continues to downplay the virus despite having been hospitalised for it himself.

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro also tested positive but earlier encouraged businesses to open despite lockdown orders put in place by local governors.

Same with Trump, who tweeted about "liberating" states whose governors had issued stay-at-home orders.

European countries are facing more lockdowns, which Hans Kluge, the WHO Europe director says are proving effective.

England and France are currently in their second lockdowns this year.

Germany is in a partial lockdown. In Greece, people must get permission to leave home by sending text messages for daily requirements.

The list goes on.

I wonder if they, and other countries still being ravaged by the virus, would have fared better had their leaders listened to the experts, the science, and took stronger measures earlier.

We'll probably never know.

Living in New Zealand sometimes feels like being in the eye of the storm. We've been looking from the inside out, observing the conditions around the world in which the virus has been allowed to rage and thrive.

World leaders have been slow to act when they see what's been working and what hasn't.

While our country's lockdown felt restrictive at the time, we have been kept relatively safe because we all understood just what was at stake - and we acted as one.

That has been proved by the very fact that we are enjoying the freedoms we now have.

So even with the promise of possible vaccines on the horizon, the next six months or so look grim for the rest of the world.

I'm grateful to be here in New Zealand.