October 2020 in pictures: striking images of an eventful month

Nov 3, 2020

COVID-19 coronavirus election health lockdown

October saw the run up to the election as well as the global COVID-19 cloud. Image: Unsplash/Shawn Ang

Douglas Broom

Senior Writer, Forum Agenda

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COVID-19

October saw the resurgence of COVID-19 around the world.
The US presidential campaign was interrupted when Donald Trump contracted the virus.
Fighting broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh.

October 2020: COVID-19 surged once again, Americans began to cast their votes in the presidential election and violence flared in parts of the world.

Behind the headlines, ordinary people just tried to get on with their lives, whether under the shadow of the pandemic or caught in wars in Yemen or Nagorno-Karabakh.

Here are some images that show how these events affected people around the globe.

October highlights COVID-19 health coronavirus

Support bubble: A voter and her son use a makeshift shelter while queuing to vote in the US presidential election in New Orleans. Image: REUTERS/Kathleen Flynn

Crush hour: Commuters find no space to socially distance on the London tube. Image: REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Acute problem: A woman uses a syringe to feed a child in Sanaa, Yemen – child malnutrition is at record highs in parts of the country, the UN says. Image: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Ceasefire: A man carries his belongings to safety during a lull in fighting in Terter, Nagorno-Karabakh. Image: REUTERS/Umit Bektas

A health worker collects a swab sample from a young girl in Nairobi, Kenya. Image: REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Discover

What is the World Economic Forum doing to manage emerging risks from COVID-19?

The first global pandemic in more than 100 years, COVID-19 has spread throughout the world at an unprecedented speed. At the time of writing, 4.5 million cases have been confirmed and more than 300,000 people have died due to the virus.

As countries seek to recover, some of the more long-term economic, business, environmental, societal and technological challenges and opportunities are just beginning to become visible.

To help all stakeholders – communities, governments, businesses and individuals understand the emerging risks and follow-on effects generated by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Marsh and McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group, has launched its COVID-19 Risks Outlook: A Preliminary Mapping and its Implications - a companion for decision-makers, building on the Forum’s annual Global Risks Report.

The report reveals that the economic impact of COVID-19 is dominating companies’ risks perceptions.

Companies are invited to join the Forum’s work to help manage the identified emerging risks of COVID-19 across industries to shape a better future. Read the full COVID-19 Risks Outlook: A Preliminary Mapping and its Implications report here, and our impact story with further information.

Campaign clean-up: A worker sterilizes the White House briefing room on the day after President Trump left hospital after being treated for COVID-19. Image: REUTERS/Erin Scott

Washed up: Decommissioned cruise ships waiting to be scrapped in Izmir, Turkey – the industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. Image: Reuters/Umit Bektas

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