In the absence of a vaccine for it, this is how the countries of the world faced the Corona virus

The appearance of the Corona virus in the Chinese city of Wuhan and its spread around the world, put countries before a great test about the series of measures and steps they must take to combat the pandemic and its ability to control it and protect its economy and its citizens.

A series of anti-virus measures that appeared late last year, began to close countries to their borders and suspend international flights, later evolving into an attempt to reduce the collective movement of people, by imposing restrictions on movement within countries and a curfew.

The following is a monitoring of the most prominent measures taken by the authorities of countries that are classified in the list of the twenty most affected by the epidemic around the world, which is witnessing a large increase in the number of HIV infections.

Mobility restriction

The restrictions imposed on travel and movement in the countries affected by Corona, topped the series of measures taken in this regard, and the first thing that these countries did was to close their borders and suspend international flights, and then some of them imposed restrictions on movement within the country.

Shrink the movement

Among other measures to combat Corona, those related to reducing the collective movement of people within countries, were the imposition of curfews or restrictions on internal transportation.

In Turkey, the authorities imposed restrictions on the exit of people over the age of 65 or those under the age of twenty, from their homes, in addition to enforcing the weekend curfew in 31 states.

Curfew practices have varied in countries most affected by the epidemic. Italy, Spain, Russia and India have resorted to a comprehensive curfew, while Britain, Ireland and China have imposed a partial curfew.

As for the United States, Canada, Iran, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal, Brazil, Austria, and Israel, there was no curfew imposed, and it was only required to ask its citizens to abide by their homes and not go out unless necessary.

Measures at work 

Turkey recently announced a three-month ban on canceling employment contracts, and provided financial and banking support and facilities to companies that had to suspend their activities due to the virus.

Other countries, such as Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Brazil, also banned the termination of employment contracts, without the United States, Britain, China, Iran, Belgium, Russia, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, the Netherlands, India, Ireland, and Israel taking this step.

Retirees in countries of the world, with the exception of Turkey and France, did not receive any additional payments, while India allocated financial support for the pension fund, with the aim of helping the poor in the country.

Health systems

With the increase in infections in countries most affected by the virus, health systems have faced great challenges, and problems have arisen in securing medical supplies and equipment, medicine, and preventive supplies such as medical masks and gloves, as well as problems in testing and treatment services.

While most countries with major HIV infections testify that Corona tests on its citizens are free, Brazil and the Netherlands provide these services in return.

As for treatment services for people living with HIV, they are provided free of charge to all countries affected by the epidemic, with the exception of the Netherlands, and Iran receives 10% of the treatment fees for its citizens, while the injured person pays in the United States part of the treatment expenses.

With the exception of Turkey, Spain and Italy, the rest of the countries affected by the epidemic did not distribute medical masks free of charge on their territories. Several countries, most notably the United States, have problems securing medical masks.

While the United States, Spain, Britain, China, Belgium, and India are suffering from a shortage of hospital beds, seven other countries are short of intensive care units, while 15 countries are experiencing a shortage of medicine.

Evacuation of nationals

With the spread of the epidemic spreading around the world, countries started to evacuate their nationals from other countries, and the United States evacuated 63 thousand, Spain 24 thousand, Italy 60 thousand, France 148 thousand, Germany 240 thousand, Britain 7500, and China 1457.

The Corona epidemic also prompted the countries of the world to solidify among them to confront the virus, as Turkey provided assistance in this framework to 30 countries around the world, most notably Britain, Italy, Spain and the Balkan countries.

China also provided aid to 120, the United States to 42, India to 31 countries, and Russia to 10 countries.

Economic measures 

Among the countries with the most HIV infections recorded, 20 countries have offered tax facilities to the private sector, with the exception of Brazil, Switzerland and Israel.

Most of these countries gave financial resources and bank loans to companies affected by the epidemic, while Turkey, Spain, France, Germany, China, Iran, Russia, the Netherlands, Switzerland and India provided support to companies represented in bank loans.

Social solidarity

The phase of the epidemic has seen countries take steps to help their needy citizens and provide them with social assistance.

In this context, the Turkish government announced its intention to provide cash assistance in the amount of 1,000 Turkish liras to nearly 4.5 million low-income families. All the countries affected by the epidemic, with the exception of the Netherlands, also saw the provision of financial aid to those in need.