Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, curfews, quarantines, and similar restrictions (variously described as stay-at-home orders, shelter-in-place orders, cordons sanitaires, shutdowns or lockdowns) have been implemented in numerous countries and territories around the world. These were established to prevent the further spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19.[1] By April 2020, about half of the world’s population was under lockdown, with more than 3.9 billion people in more than 90 countries or territories having been asked or ordered to stay at home by their governments.[2] The World Health Organization’s recommendation on curfews and lockdowns is that they should be short-term measures to reorganize, regroup, rebalance resources, and protect health workers who are exhausted. To achieve a balance between restrictions and normal life, the WHO recommends response to the pandemic that consists of strict personal hygiene, effective contact tracing, and isolating when ill. Read More

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