As Covid-19 continues its world wide spread, various parts of the world have had to adapt to a new way of living. However, how people choose to combat this virus looks different from country to country. For some, adjusting may mean having to learn to deal with the isolation that comes with a city’s lockdown, while others are faced with the struggle of being temporarily put out of their jobs, in turn, causing a loss of income.
Covid-19, or otherwise known as Coronavirus 2019 , has made its way around the world, having the greatest effects on places such as China, Italy, and the United States. And in only a couple of months, there have been a total of over 2,240,000 confirmed cases worldwide.
Due to how easily and rapidly this virus can spread among people, different countries have had to put different safety measures in place in order to help diminish the spread and ensure the wellness of their citizens. However, despite being a global pandemic, no country is affected equally. During times like these, how advanced a country is, whether that be economically, socially, or scientifically, really comes into play.
Because there is no standard on how a country should react when put in situations like these, each country has had to think quick, adapt, and come up with the best method possible to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 any further.
A common strategy among countries has been to go on “lockdown”. Lockdown refers to any form of mandatory self-quarantine, where citizens are advised to stay home, and places such as restaurants, schools, and other non-essential businesses are closed. Notably, Italy was one of the first countries to impose a nationwide lockdown. Following in Italy’s footsteps was Spain and, soon after, most European countries were on mandated self-quarantines, with the UK being one of the last countries to go on lock down.
Lockdowns proved quite effective as Italy’s cases, which at its peak had almost 800 cases per day, have shown to gradually lessen. Similar to Italy, Spain has had their case per day rate diminish. Both have seen success in the implementation of such restrictions. However, as stated by The Business Insider, some European countries are considering (or have already begun to) lift these previously imposed lockdown measures and have slowly started to open back up places for the sake of their workers. Whether that is a good or bad idea considering the circumstances is something only time will tell.
Some additions to the lockdowns have been having set days for when women and men may go outside. These measures were implemented by Latin American countries Peru and Panama, which have had men and women go out every other day, alternating everyday except Sunday, when no one can go out. However, this method has proven difficult to marginalized communities such as the transgender community, as there have been accounts of transgender people being fined for going out on the “wrong day”.
Other countries have implemented nationwide curfews in order to decrease the amount of time individuals are allowed to interact with each other outside of their homes. One of these countries is Thailand, which has put in place a 10pm to 4am curfew, meaning anyone spotted outside during this period of time will be fined, with the only exception being if someone is transporting goods or trying to reach medical help.
And while some countries have barely started to implement such measures, others are already trying to get them lifted. U.S President Donald Trump has stated that the number of cases has peaked and therefore have “put us in a very strong position to finalise guidelines for states on reopening the country.” Many citizens, however, do not agree with the President's decision, with some states deciding to implement their own methods for ensuring safety and doing what they believe is ideal for their state.
One notable newcomer to the world of lockdowns has been Singapore. Previously, Singapore had been taking precautionary measures yet not completely shutting down as most countries had done. Schools and restaurants were still open and people were still allowed to meet as long as they stayed the recommended 6 feet apart from each other. However, on April 7th, Singapore announced that it would be closing all schools and businesses.
Besides lockdowns, many countries have banned traveling into their country to minimize the spread from foreigners. On March 16, the European Union officially banned non-essential travel into the region. But because of this, this also meant that the people who made trips to countries such as Spain, Italy, France, etc. are now indefinitely stuck there until further notice.
Even so, despite all the chaos, there is still hope. China, which, in order to put a stop to the rapid spread of the virus, put in place one of the largest quarantines in human history with the lockdown of 16 cities dating back to early January, has just lifted their 76-day lockdown.
So, whatever the circumstances may be, and whatever the safety precautions put in place are, there is no denying the fact that this global pandemic has and will continue to drastically change our lives.
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