2 Nov

Tonga: Lockdowns for First COVID Case









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Tonga
Lockdowns for First COVID Case
The island nation of Tonga is imposing a lockdown after its first recorded case of COVID-19. The tiny Pacific island nation with a population of 106,000 reported on Friday that a vaccinated visitor from New Zealand had tested positive for the virus. In response, the government declared a one-week lockdown on its main island of Tongatapu yesterday, shutting down schools, bars, and restaurants, and imposing a nighttime curfew, effective at midnight. Tonga’s first COVID case leaves only four countries as officially COVID-free: Nauru, Tuvalu, North Korea, and Turkmenistan. Like Tonga, Nauru and Tuvalu are Pacific island countries largely protected by natural isolation, whereas North Korea and Turkmenistan’s failure to report any cases may simply be due to their governments’ secretive nature.
 
This map depicts this island nation of Tonga, which had remained officially COVID-free until reporting a case last Friday and imposed lockdowns today in response. Click on the map to learn more.

Graphic Source: Daily Mail
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Afghanistan 
Kabul Military Hospital Attacked 
Afghanistan’s largest military hospital was hit by two explosions followed by deadly gunfire today. At least 15 people are believed to be dead with another 34 wounded, yet the numbers have not been confirmed. There has not been any immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Islamic State affiliated ISIS-K fighters were seen entering the hospital after the first explosion. A Taliban spokesperson reported that the Taliban shot and killed four ISIS-K attackers and captured a fifth attacker alive. These deadly blasts are part of a growing list of Islamic State attacks that have been carried out since their rival, the Taliban, seized control of Kabul this August. In 2017, ISIS-K carried out an attack at the same hospital, killing more than 30 people.

This map depicts the Sardar Mohammed Daud Khan Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, where over 15 people were killed today. Click on the map to learn more.

Further Reading: BBC,The Guardian, ABC, Al Jazeera
Graphic Source: Barron’s

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Nigeria
Deadly Building Collapse
At least six people are dead and 100 remain missing after a building under construction collapsed in the Ikoyi district of Nigeria’s capital city, Lagos. Construction workers were trapped under the rubble of the building. A search and rescue effort was launched on Monday to find survivors, with at least three saved so far. Workers who escaped said that as many as 100 people were working in the building when it collapsed. Lagos police officials say that it is still too early determine the cause of the collapse. According to the BBC, building collapses are relatively frequent in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, because construction materials are often substandard and regulations are rarely enforced. 

This map depicts the location of the building collapse in the upmarket district of Ikoyi in Lagos, Nigeria. Click on the map to learn more.

Further Reading: The New York Times, Yahoo Canada, The Guardian, NBC News, CBS News
Graphic Source: BBC

Yesterday’s Answer

Q: Which hemisphere does 90% of the world population live in?
A: Northern Hemisphere
About 90% of the world population lives in the northern half of the globe, and more than half of the human species can be found just north of the 27 °N latitude mark above the equator. The sweet spot refers to where human populations thrive the most, which is approximately between 20 °N and 40 °N. In theory, habitable zones should be equidistant from the equator, yet the majority of humans live on the north side, because north of the equator has more land to support larger populations. However, the south has been seeing a huge population boom in major Global South cities recently.

Source

Today’s Question


Q: Which German philosopher was the first to teach geography as its own subject at the University of Königsberg in 1757, establishing geography as a legitimate science and an intellectual discipline?

Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.

 

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