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STUDENT'S MAGAZINE \
GOVERNMENT

APPROACH TO COVID - 19

THROUGH HARD TIMES

JIBHASSORN LAOLUECHAI (#6 - FRESH 3/342)
NAPASJUTHA KONGSONTHANA (#16 - SUN 3/342)
PURICHAYA TEERAANUPHAN (#25 - FAH 3/342)
MANUSANUN PINYOSET (#27 - EANG 3/342)

After the outbreak of the novel coronavirus which quickly turned into a pandemic spreading swiftly all over
the world, the governments from every country announced a number of measures that would hopefully
slow down and stop this deadly pandemic. Looking at their different approaches, there are three prevalent
measures that the governments have considered when tackling this deadly virus; The need to lockdown,
the delicate balance between health and the economy, and how best to test and trace. All three of these
have been implemented by countries to achieve a best long-term solution to this novel coronavirus. In this
article we will take a look at how certain countries around the world have implemented these methods and
consider whether or not the various outcomes and lessons we can learn going forward.

LOCKDOWN

The first place to take a look at is Wuhan. Wuhan, the metapolis where the first corona case was detected,
was the first to impose a lockdown on 23 January 2020 in an attempt to limit the spread of the outbreak..

During that time, the lives of 57 million people were sealed off from the outside world. There was a closure
of public transit and transport was severely restricted. Non-essential companies and schools were shut
down. Millions of residents were grounded at home. Some Wuhan residents claimed that they’re not even
allowed to go outside to shop for groceries. Wuhan lockdown was referred to as “unprecedented” and “
new to science” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Due to the strict measure, Wuhan by April was reporting new cases in single-digits compared with nearly
4,000 per day in February and ended its 76-day lockdown on April 8 2020, reopening its borders and re-
moving some travel restrictions. Healthy residents and visitors were allowed to leave Wuhan on trains or
flights. Shops reopened at the same time that public buses and subway systems re-starte.

The next two countries we will look at also enforced some of the world’s strictest lockdown measures com-
parable to Wuhan;namely, Italy and Spain. Let’s start off with Italy. Italy was the first European country to
put more than 60 million people under lockdown. The first lockdown in Italy began around 21 February
2020 in Lombardy, Northern Italy, the center of Italy’s coronavirus outbreak. The initial quarantined ‘red
zone’ over 50,000 people, a few weeks later, it was expanded to cover much of Northern Italy including
Milan. Finally, on 10 March, the government imposed restrictions over the entire country following the
fact that the number of new cases and deaths had overtaken China. Sixty million people were ordered
indoors and all non-essential movement was banned nationwide. Residents were only permitted to leave
their homes for essential supplies such as food and medicine. “Travel across the entire Italian peninsula
had to be justified by professional reasons,or for essential health reasons,” The Italian prime minister said.
Schools, Universities, bars, parks, restaurants and most shops in the nation would have to close and a 6
p.m. curfew already being enforced in the north of the country would be extended to the whole country.

Fines were introduced for those who violate the lockdown, and could be up to 3,000 euros. Police and the
army patrolling the streets were given extra powers.

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