What's being done to stop the pandemic?

By: S. Costa Franco

Millions of people are infected; thousands have died; citizens must remain home to prevent spreading; companies have shut down. All countries must continue to impose methods that have been effective in decreasing the number of cases of Coronavirus, as declared by the World Health Organization, and about one-third of the world is under some kind of "lockdown" or social restriction.  
It certainly has had an enormous effect on our world as well as our day-to-day lives, but how exactly are different leaders and governments dealing with this situation? What are some solutions that people have come up with? What countries are and aren't in quarantine? These are all questions that we, as a community, seek to answer to understand our current situation, how we can make the best of what is occurring and come up with better solutions.  
The term "lockdown" can be defined as anything in relation to mandatory quarantine to recommendations to stay home. Many countries have begun to implement the "lockdown" concept. Although, different countries and cities have implemented different measures, and some examples of this are: 

• The UK: As of March 23, a full lockdown has been implemented. 
  
• Hungary: The elections have been suspended as declared by the prime minister. 
  
• United Emirates: Most of the United Emirates have implemented an overnight curfew, with an exception of Dubai, that has been under lockdown since April 4th. 
  
• Singapore: All schools have been closed, and non-essential businesses have been closed. 
  
• Panama & Peru: These countries have imposed a measure in which depending on their gender, citizens can leave the house on certain days. In Peru, men can leave the house on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and in Panama, women can leave on the very same days. On Sundays, no one can leave. 
  

• Moscow: The citizens in Moscow must remain at home and must have passes if they must move around the city. 
  
• Thailand: The country has been on a state of emergency for a week and a curfew has been implemented on April 3rd from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. 
  
• New Zealand: The country has been on full lockdown since March 25th and all civilians entering the country must go into a mandatory 14-day-long quarantine. 
  
• South Africa: The 21-day-long lockdown which had been occurring since March 26th was extended through the end of April. 
  
• Colombia: A nation-wide quarantine was put in place on March 24th, and those over the age of 70 must remain indoors until May. 
  

• Australia: There, the most populous state was put under strict lockdown and non-essential businesses were closed. 
  
• China: At the end of January, at least 16 cities were closed, making the quarantine the largest in human history, and the lockdown in Wuhan where the virus originated ended on the 8th of April. 
  
• Israel: On the 19th of March, Israel when into a partial lockdown. Individuals who were not native to the country were banned from entering the country, and after these restrictions only became stricter. A full lockdown was put in place for Passover on the 7th of April. 
  
• France: A full lockdown that consisted of banning public gatherings and outside walks was implemented on March 16th, and non-essential businesses were closed. 
  
• Malaysia: The quarantine will last at least until April 28th, and all shops with an exception of markets, healthcare, banking and other essential institutions have been closed. 
  

• Czech Republic: Most shops and restaurants have been closed and travel of foreigners was prohibited since March 16th. However, some non-essential shops could reopen on the 9th of April. 
  
• Germany: The lockdown has been extended until April 19th and shops, bars, churches, clubs and sports facilities have been closed in 16 different states. 
  
• USA: In the United States there are also lockdown measures, and in New York, those who leave their houses can be fined around $5,000. 
  
• Italy: A nation-wide lockdown has been implemented since March 10th, heavily affecting all citizens. 
  
• El Salvador: An orange alert was announced by the president on March 11th  
  

• Spain: Spain was the second European country to implement a quarantine spanning across the entire nation on the 14th of March, which has been extended to at least the 25th of April. 
  
• Brazil: Here, there is an isolation of some capitals but some states with a greater capacity to cure victims have more flexible measures. 
  

The European Union has fully banned any not essential travel into that specific area, and many countries have closed their borders for international travel, including: 

• Canada  
  
• Lithuania  
  

• The Maldives (travellers must stay in a 14-day quarantine) 
  
• North Korea  
  
• Qatar  
  
• Slovakia  
  
• Ukraine  
  

Most solutions for the current coronavirus situation involve encouraging (but in some cases obliging) citizens to stay at home for a determined period, especially of elderly. Also, many countries have closed shops, schools, and several non-essential businesses and institutions, and have extended lockdowns and delayed events that consist of having a large social gathering. Several countries have closed their travel borders for international incomers.  
Although, there are several countries and cities which are not yet in quarantine or shutdown measures for certain reasons, such as a lack of many confirmed cases, the natural decrease in movement in the city and also a necessity to maintain the economy in a good condition, so that it does not collapse. One of these cities includes Jakarta, Indonesia, although it has adopted different measures to prevent spreading. Cities such as Tokyo have also only recently implemented quarantine measures. Even though the official quarantine has not been implemented, the movement and traffic congestion in these locations has drastically decreased. 
Overall, yes, a lot is changing, and of course, we all must adapt to the measures that must be taken to avoid too much further spreading of the coronavirus. These lockdowns and other measures can have several negative impacts, but it is important to try to follow through with any actions that can be successful when preventing spreading, and also to stay positive, trying to make the best of this experience that we are all going through together.  ​