World Leaders Facing a Coronavirus Pandemic

world leaders facing coronavirus

 

With the entire world being affected by Coronavirus, and many different approaches on how to contain the virus, not one country is responding perfectly.

 

How Did Leaders React Initially?

British prime minister Boris Johnson was slow to react as the virus swept across Europe, initially pushing aside the idea of widespread testing, and experimenting with the goal of “herd immunity”. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Poland’s conservative nationalist leaders responded by defiantly slamming shut their borders with other EU countries stranding thousands of Europeans in transit.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte defended his government’s stance of developing so-called group (or herd) immunity Rutte said in a rare televised speech that in “the coming period, a large proportion of the Dutch population will become infected with this virus. 

“As we wait for a vaccine or treatment to be developed, we can delay the spread of the virus and at the same time build up population immunity in a controlled manner.” Ministers would do "whatever it takes" to make sure that businesses don't go bankrupt and people don't lose their jobs, Rutte added.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has virtually lost control of Pakistan’s bureaucracy after the country’s military swept aside his objections to imposing a nationwide lockdown. The military has now assumed control of efforts to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus, officials said.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster, restricting travel, closing schools, banning mass gatherings and ordering bars to close or limit numbers to 50. Anyone breaking South Africa's coronavirus measures would be subject to a fine, or even imprisonment.