DEALING with the unforeseen challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on people all across the world. Medical News Today has spoken with people from different countries, asking how the pandemic has impacted their lives.
What is the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic? In this Special Feature, we investigate.
At the time of writing this Special Feature, there are over 2,700,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the globe.
According to official reports, the largest numbers of confirmed cases are in the United States, Italy, Spain, and France. However, even the countries that the new coronavirus has hit less aggressively are still under considerable strain.
As many as 213 countries and territories have registered Covid-19 cases, and the entire world is buzzing with uncertainty and questions: How long will the pandemic last? What will people’s lives look like once the pandemic is over?
Many countries have declared restrictive measures, such as lockdown, shelter in place, or stay at home orders, to contain the pandemic at a local level. However, the wildly differing responses and response timelines have left people wondering if authorities failed to take the situation seriously early on when they could have done more to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
China appeared to manage the coronavirus outbreak effectively, putting in place early travel bans within the country itself. As early as January 23, Chinese authorities declared a nationwide travel ban, which, some experts suggest, may have averted over 700,000 Covid-19 cases within the country.
Earlier in April, China eased the lockdown measures in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak, amid celebrations that the nation had beaten the virus.
People in Japan have also started to express worry that the government is not doing enough to contain the crisis.
The government banned all travel in the country, and people could only leave their homes for essential reasons — such as to buy food. When going out, people had to carry declaration forms and wear face masks and disposable gloves.
Despite a slowdown in the growth of new Covid-19 cases, the Italian government has recently extended lockdown measures through May 3.
Although there have been over 208,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country to date, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that Spain reached the peak of the pandemic in early April.
