Countries reinstate lockdowns as Covid-19 cases spiral

(NST) – Fresh outbreaks of the coronavirus around the world have led to renewed, more localised lockdowns, such as in parts of Catalonia and in Melbourne on Saturday.

Here is a recap:

SPAIN: lockdown on Saturday for around 200,000 residents in a section of the northeastern Catalonia region. Nobody is allowed to enter or leave the area, gatherings of more than 10 people are banned and visits to retirement homes halted.

PORTUGAL: lockdown at home has been in place since July 1 for some 700,000 inhabitants in the Lisbon region, for a period of at least two weeks.

GERMANY: local lockdowns were announced on June 23 for more than 600,000 people in two neighbouring districts Guetersloh and Warendorf in North Rhine-Westphalia state. Coesfeld, a district in western Germany, was locked down on May 18.

BRITAIN: on June 30 the city of Leicester began a localised two-week lockdown with non-essential shops shutting.

ITALY: some 700 people on June 22 were ordered to remain indoors in four council housing blocks in Mondragone, 60 kilometres north of Naples on the coast in the Campania region.

CHINA: the central city of Wuhan came out of lockdown at the start of April but authorities swiftly reimposed restrictions on 70 residential neighbourhoods.

INDIA: the southern state of Tamil Nadu ordered new restrictions in Chennai, its capital, and surrounding districts as of June 19 in measures that affected around 15 million people.

AZERBAIJAN: reinstated a tight lockdown from June 22 to Aug 1.

UNITED STATES: several states have halted plans to reopen or relax their lockdowns, with bars closing in California, Texas and Florida, as well as beach closing in California and Florida.

ARGENTINA: a toughening of lockdown measures in Buenos Aires and its surrounding area has been imposed from July 1 to 17. The country’s second city Cordoba also rolled back on easing its lockdown measures on May 19.

PANAMA: a return to lockdown from June 8 in the capital and a neighbouring province.

LEBANON: a four-day lockdown was imposed on May 13.

AUSTRALIA: thousands of residents in several high-rise apartments in Melbourne went into lockdown for at least five days on Saturday.