As we prepare for another month of circuit breaker—ordering more comfort food, finding the best Zoom backgrounds, and desperately searching for viable sources of entertainment—some countries are similarly tightening their lockdown measures in bid to prevent further spreading of COVID-19, while others are slowly beginning to ease restrictions.
Here are some examples of its impact worldwide:
- The Philippine government has sealed off Luzon, the country's largest and most populous island. Land, sea, and air travel has been suspended, while government work, schools, businesses, and public transportation have been ordered shut in a bid to keep some 55 million people at home.
- South Korea has called for expanded public participation in social distancing, as the country witnesses a wave of community spread and imported infections leading to a resurgence in new cases according to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
- In Germany, drive-in entertainment takes off with a maximum of two people are allowed to attend per vehicle with the attendees to remain in their cars in compliance with social distancing measures.
- Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte ordered all non-essential companies and factories to close nationwide to stem a coronavirus pandemic that has killed 4,825 people in the country in a month.
- Dutch authorities issued a ban on all organised gatherings of more than three people until June 1, 2020. Municipalities are given the ability to fine people who breach the measures, including citizens who do not respect the rule to keep one and a half metres from others.
We hope this series doesn't spark anxiety, but rather, hope and unity in our shared fight and communal effort against the virus. Stay home, stay safe, and stay strong.
Text and images via Getty Images.
