What Share of the World Population Is Already on COVID-19 Lockdown?
A report by The Guardian shows that 20 percent of the world population is currently on some form of a coronavirus lockdown, meaning their movement is being actively restricted and controlled by their respective governments.
According to an analysis by Statista, that number is already closer to 25 percent. While there are all sorts of different lockdowns currently in place, Statista counted those in which governments ordered their citizens to stay at home and only take a minimum of necessary trips outside, while announcing police enforcements and/or fines for people failing to meet the requirements.
The biggest lockdown is currently being enforced in India, where 1.3 billion people have been ordered to stay inside for 21 days starting today. This lockdown exceeds the size of those that happened in China even at the height of the epidemic there, according to the New York Times.
Other big lockdowns are happening in the U.S., where around 20 states and several cities have said that they would be enforcing strict stay-at-home orders, and in Europe, where there are nationwide lockdowns in France, Spain, the UK, Italy and elsewhere (totaling more than 300 million people). Latin American countries have also started to enforce lockdowns, often with the help of the military. There are currently 163 million people on lockdown in Peru, El Salvador, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia.
The most draconian lockdown laws were passed in Jordan, where anyone caught out on the street can be punished with up to one year in jail, according to a government order. The Jordan lockdown is affecting 10 million, similar to a lockdown in neighboring Israel (nine million inhabitants). In New Zealand, four million are staying at home during an enforced lockdown.
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