What are the confinement rules in your country?

France
Only essential industries stay open: agrifood, transport, agriculture, gas, electricity, post office, supermarkets, some open air markets remain open with traffic restrictions, general practitioners and hospital doctors but not dentists which annoys me a lot.
The restaurants are closed but some pizzeria and take-out meals are opening again. Most hotels are closed. Some small DIY stores remain open.
We have the right to go out for an hour a day to play sports, walk but bicycle are not alowed and you can walk no more than one kilometer from your residence. Beaches are prohibited.
The containment should end gradually from May 11, inch allah!
Mask will be obligatory in public transports

Here it's done on a State or even County basis, the Federal Government has for once shown good sense and stayed out of the process. What applies in NYC is probably not going to work in some hick town of 100 people out in central Wyoming.

Our doctors are closed except for dire cases, regular appointments are being done by teleconference. My doctor is also a friend of the family so it's all going well. Hospitals I'm told are open but best avoided. Bars and restaurants are closed but offer curbside pick up. Beaches are closed but shortly to be open for part of the day. The only shops open are food stores (but NOT farmer's markets, WTF!) , DIY and pharmacies.

I'm looking forward to the opening of the local markets and coin stores but I guess that's pretty low priority. I wonder how many will have survived?

Here are the NY State rules:

https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/new-york-state-pause

Ireland

Ireland's confinement rules are similar to France. Only essential workers are allowed work. All non essential workers temporarily laid because of the coronavirus receive 350 euro weekly from the government. Yes Ireland is going to be doomed again. Shop and supermarkets are open but strictly adhere to the 2m rule causing long queues outside some shops. Open markets are closed. Restaurants and take aways are shut but some offer home delivery. Believe it or not although pubs are closed some are offering a home delivered pint.

DIY shops are closed so there is a shortage of paint, Spring cleaning materials and garden plants. Of course the weather has been perfect for these activities. Like everywhere a small bonus of the coronavirus is the price of fuel but of course again we can't drive anywhere too far. Around six weeks ago I put 70 euro of fuel in the car and there's half of it left. The Gardai (police) randomly set up road blocks to catch motorists travelling too far from their homes. Penalties if caught are 1200 euro to 3 months in prison.

For exercise we are allowed walk, run or cycle within 2km of our homes. Beaches are closed to all unless you are fortunate to live within the 2km limit.

UK or at least England.

No unnecessary travel, you are allowed to go out for a exercise or shopping once a day but nobody is checking that. Fast-foods open and some restaurants open for delivery, most shops open.
The worse part is that I noticed the traffic is getting busier by the day. More and more are going out to sunbathe in parks, visiting friend or family. Maybe it is different in other parts of England but in Liverpool is quite bad. It just looks like nobody cares, not even the police.

New Zealand

March - all gatherings of over 100 people banned, sign ins at public events.
March 15 - Mosque shooting commemorations and Pasifika festivals cancelled (Both events were met with angry reactions, the Mosque was when an AUSTRALIAN redneck killed 51 Muslims at two mosques for no reason other than Trump style racism)

Borders closed to China and first then everywhere except some Pacific Islands in mid March.

Pasifika was a festival of Polynesians which involves, food, shows, arts and dancing and singing competitions - wisely banned as Polynesians are our sickest and poorest citizens who live in overcrowded surroundings with high rates of poverty, bad health incomes, high crime, high number of kids and most religious, and covid would decimate them.

March 21 - Alert Levels announced Level 2 - social distancing and registers at shops for tracing contacts.

March 23 - Ramped up to level 3 - Schools and non essential businesses given 60 hours to close.

March 26 - April 23 - Full Level 4 lockdown, all schools and workplaces except essential ones closed.

All shops except supermarkets, petrol stations, dairies, chemists are closed. No takeaways, no restaurants, no pubs and no cafes. No hairdressers, dentists or any face to face retail.

People to stay home except if getting groceries, essential medicine, medical help or travel to and from essential work.

Exercise allowed, but must be local and social distancing of 2m enforced.

Police to stop and apprehend all drivers and arrest if necessary. I was stopped 4 times while working, but let go as I proved I was an essential socialist worker.

People given one week's grace to April 2 to arrive back in NZ and then the borders closed. All people arriving back had to self isolate for 14 days.

Hotels and motels used as containment facilities for overseas arrivals self isolating and lower grade motels to take the homeless.

April 20 - Lockdown extended another week due to possibility of get togethers of people over ANZAC weekend (Archaic holdiay based around a 1915 military fiasco in which many New Zealanders and Australians died in a badly planned English generals attack on Turkey - Lions led by donkeys).

April 28 - New Zealand leaves Level 4 lockdown for Level 3 lockdown lite - Some businesses will reopen, but with massive restrictions, some schools may open - people encouraged still to remain in "bubbles" and limit exercise and driving. Takeaways may open - but must be contactless.

Situation to be reviewed in 2 weeks based on numbers of cases and testing facilities.

In Canada, provincial govt rules are different though I believe all the provinces are mostly recommending similar guidelines across the country. Saskatchewan has few cases and it just laid out a detailed plan to reopen up. However in the two big provinces of Quebec, and Ontario where I live, I expect they will also unveil plans in the next week or two.

At the moment, here in Toronto, the municipality has closed down public places like Malls and playgrounds within parks (though not parks themselves). Public Events have been cancelled and there is a rule that people maintain the 6ft social distancing rule unless they are from the same household (I think that is limited to 5people). Only essential businesses are allowed to operate , though the Ontario govt has designated most businesses as essential eg the LCBO which is the provincial seller of alcohol, auto dealerships, etc. Restaurants are not allowed to have dine in, but you can do take out or pickup. The public are encouraged to wear masks (non surgical), but not mandatory yet. No limits on how much time people can be outside for any reason, but the police are in relative force on sunny days and weekends to just make sure people are following the rules. Seats are blocked off on buses to maintain social distancing and I imagine in the subway too. But I’ve not taken public transit in more than 6 weeks so I’m not sure how that works. In general, FWIW, I think people here in Toronto have been observing social distancing by and large and that’s reflected in the relatively low numbers of infections and fatalities compared to Europe or the US. Thankfully the federal and provincial govts are working reasonably in tandem. Hopefully they’ll coordinate equally well to bring us out of this current restriction phase to help get the economy going again. Even Canadians have limits to patience

In Germany confinement is becoming less harsh.
All shops under 800 square meters where allowed to open since 20.04.2020 (Each state can make their own rules so Bavaria shops open today).
From today on 27.04.2020 you have to wear a face mask when entering any shop or any public transport (In Berlin only for transport).
A maximum of two people can walk together outside, except for family with children, else a distance of 1.5 meters have to be kept to other people.
Basically everyone can work but most will do so from home office.
Schools for higher classes have reopened under some regulations but all other including kindergardens are still closed.
Some cultural things will reopen from May 4th, this includes Zoo's, Librarys and Museum's.
Restaurants remain closed but can do delivery or pickup business.
Holidays are basically not possible and hotels can only accept business travel guests.
Our only open boarder remains the one to the netherlands.

Have a nice day colleagues and my wishes sincere good health.


Czech Republic
Everything is gradually released from 25.4., there is already free movement of people and the possibility to travel abroad / it's just nowhere to go/
Today they open all the shops outside the big shopping malls there will be food and pharmacies,
also fitness centers and services are being relaxed,
also fitness centers and services are being relaxed -however, everything also has some clarification , people up to 10 can meet outside the family , today ZOO and shops up to 2500 m.
we have an R- 0.45 infection indicator / how much one sick person infects others/
is a plan to increase R again to close everything is in the time of two to three weeks in advance , so we have time to handle it all now it is the responsibility of the people their hygiene and personal responsibility to continue.
The only place that is most vulnerable turned out retirement homes for social services , and sanatoriums for the long-term sick -Here we will address the system settings in the future to better protect our dearest / it definitely deserves it in a lifetime/
I think we are halfway through the match and we will finish it.
I wish you all healthy and hello.
Ivan

Quote: "pnightingale"​Here it's done on a State or even County basis, the Federal Government has for once shown good sense and stayed out of the process. What applies in NYC is probably not going to work in some hick town of 100 people out in central Wyoming.
​
​Our doctors are closed except for dire cases, regular appointments are being done by teleconference. My doctor is also a friend of the family so it's all going well. Hospitals I'm told are open but best avoided. Bars and restaurants are closed but offer curbside pick up. Beaches are closed but shortly to be open for part of the day. The only shops open are food stores (but NOT farmer's markets, WTF!) , DIY and pharmacies.
​
​I'm looking forward to the opening of the local markets and coin stores but I guess that's pretty low priority. I wonder how many will have survived?

​Hospitals are best avoided unless you are actually sick...we are seeing people delay treatment for strokes, MIs, GI bleeds, etc, all stuff that can get much worse if not taken care of early and we are seeing people and their long term health suffer as a result.

I'm currently in the DC area.

Virginia, Maryland, and DC seem roughly the same in their stay-at-home orders. Any business deemed essential or people who are deemed essential to their business can go to work. Food service dine-in is closed completely, pickup/carryout/delivery is the only way to get food from a restaurant. Some food service establishments are closed outright, and not very good at notifying the public, so I've accidentally placed an online order or two (and paid) only to get there and find out I paid for food I will not get.

Social distancing is highly suggested, but this is the US, so only about half of the population is good at following the rules. For example, ellemerob mentioned the lines outside of grocery stores, which we have here too, but it's not because of social distancing, it's because everyone wants to hoard TP and/or bottled water. Plastic gloves are ending up on the ground everywhere as people get crazy. Even though they're using them, they still take calls on their phone (wearing their gloves) Pretty rough.

Face masks are required by law in MD and DC, in Virginia it's just a "strong suggestion". Some stores in MD are very vigilant about policing this to the point of giving you a mask when you enter and letting you pay for it when you leave. Still, people don't wear them right, covering their mouth but not covering their nose, or some food service people wear them around their chin as if they are facial hair guards (which, sure, does help hygiene but doesn't stop a virus from exiting your mouth and getting on something else when you sneeze).

Maryland gets points for their governor negotiating a purchase for a half a million test kits from South Korea. I agree with pnightingale that Wyoming and NYC are two different scenarios, but I think that's where my agreement ends. The federal government is staying out of the process when it comes to helping states, but they would do good to provide general guidelines (which the CDC has done, and then government officials contradict). Things like suggesting social distancing and masks should remain the same no matter where you are, and obtaining testing is something the states have to do on their own here. Even with everything going on, Maryland's governor was mocked by the President after he obtained the aforementioned testkits, and there are several confirmed reports of the federal government confiscating PPE and safety equipment before it gets to the places it is needed.

Taxpayers were offered a one-time stimulus with maximum of $1200 deposited by the IRS into their bank accounts, with $600 for additional dependents. If you did not file, you do not get the stimulus. If your dependents are over the age of 16, you don't get the dependent bonus. In the meantime the government is providing stimulus money to keep businesses open, but the business owners get to decide what they do with the money and many of them are not paying their employees while they are out of work.

Reports vary wildly depending on the locale. In Virginia, my grandmother who works at a nursing home says that the one she works at is doing well. They had one health scare that ended up not being COVID-19 and bingo nights are limited to seven people thanks to distancing which is causing some dissent but that's certainly better than the other nursing home which was completely overrun; something like 80 cases with only 10% recovery. I'm worried for her because she herself is in the high risk age range, but it sounds like she is being extra careful, so I'm thankful for that.

Virginia schools were declared closed until the end of the school year early on. Maryland keeps extending theirs. I'm pretty sure at this point they will suffer the same fate. I've been talking to gradeschool teachers and professors everywhere who have said that the move to online school has been rough at best - either the classes were not ready, online class attendance is low, or some other issue gets in the way. Truly a shame because my personal belief is that poor education is what got us into many of the messes we're in now.

There are organized protests in each state to reopen the businesses states. People think their rights are being infringed upon by telling them what to do, but they don't understand that by not taking precautions they are infringing on others' rights. I am thankful that those protests have not been more successful as many/most/all of our states do not yet have a flat curve and even with some places doing better than others our country as a whole is woefully inequipped (whether it is equipment or organization) to handle this situation.

As far as other states go, I heard something about North Carolina reopening their beaches but I wouldn't go there. There was a case in Idaho where people would not vacate a playground (the park remained open). A bunch of angry parents resisted, one mother suggested the officer arrest her to remove her from the premises, so he did, and this seemed to surprise people.

I think I've written enough of a novella, I'm new here and this is my first long post, hopefully someone finds this post interesting and maybe helps them feel better about their current situation, where-ever they might be!

here in italy
yesterday our premier spoke to the nation, the phase 2 will begin on 4 may.
Few differences between lockdown and phase 2.
More factories will reopen and it will be possible to move within your region (but only for good reason as work, health and food expence), in lockdown it was only within your municipality (the fine is always about 400 euro and if you are sick or in quarantine there is also criminal complaint).
Within your region people can meet the boyfriend/girlfriend  :) even if they are still not close relatives !!
The government promised that the masks will cost around 50 cents.
Restaurants can only work by take away.
Barbers and beauticians will reopen only from june 1 th.
Athletes from 4 may can start training.

Quote: "ugr"... There are organized protests in each state to reopen the businesses states. People think their rights are being infringed upon by telling them what to do ...

French media reports that it is only a tiny minority of the extreme-right pro-Trump agitators in Democrats-held states who are demonstrating in this way under the watchful eye of a few sympathetizer cameramen who are trying to simulate a huge crowd of protesters.
But it's true that in France, it would be difficult for you to find any pro-Trump sympathizer ... especially since you need to inhale ammonia to be cured



There seems to be a big difference of fines between different countries

Quote: "Frenchlover"

Quote: "ugr"... There are organized protests in each state to reopen the businesses states. People think their rights are being infringed upon by telling them what to do ...

​French media reports that it is only a tiny minority of the extreme-right pro-Trump agitators in Democrats-held states who are demonstrating in this way under the watchful eye of a few sympathetizer cameramen who are trying to simulate a huge crowd of protesters.
​But it's true that in France, it would be difficult for you to find any pro-Trump sympathizer ... especially since you need to inhale ammonia to be cured

​It's true that the number of people at each protest is probably pretty low. For example, in Maryland there were a LOT of posts about the protest on social media (everyone feels like they have something to say...) but when I finally read far enough I was glad to see a post from the local news that only a few dozen people showed up. So, only a two-digit number of protesters - I can deal with that.

My primary worry is that some people here are so very gullible, and some of the ways that these protests are gaining press coverage are the same ways that we ended up in this situation to begin with.
​

Quote: "Frenchlover"​​
​There seems to be a big difference of fines between different countries

​I forgot to mention that although there are signs everywhere saying ESSENTIAL TRAVEL ONLY, there don't appear to be any sort of distance laws or regulations in place. I think I could probably go visit family a few states away and it wouldn't be a big deal. I haven't heard anything about fines in the US, either. That's not to say there aren't any -- a cursory google search reveals $1000usd in Indiana, $250usd in Wisconsin, $1250usd in Oregon -- but my point is that the fines are not often mentioned in coverage that I've seen; I think that the word could be spread better than it has. [edits for typos]

Quote: "Frenchlover"​

Quote: "ugr"... There are organized protests in each state to reopen the businesses states. People think their rights are being infringed upon by telling them what to do ...

​French media reports that it is only a tiny minority of the extreme-right pro-Trump agitators in Democrats-held states who are demonstrating in this way under the watchful eye of a few sympathetizer cameramen who are trying to simulate a huge crowd of protesters.
​But it's true that in France, it would be difficult for you to find any pro-Trump sympathizer ... especially since you need to inhale ammonia to be cured
​
​
​
​There seems to be a big difference of fines between different countries

​The difference has just got bigger. Just read that the maximum fine in Ireland has now risen to 2500 euro and up to 6 months in prison. Crikey

https://www.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/coronavirus-ireland-gardai-to-use-extra-powers-to-clamp-down-on-people-exercising-outside-2km-zone-39113593.html

Today in New Zealand we left the severe lockdown of Level 4 and entered a lighter lockdown level 3.

That means essential industries are back and trucks and traffic were noticeable more on the roads today and the construction industry is back. Schools optionally start back tomorrow for Year 10 and under (Equivalent to USA High School Junior and under - not sure about European school system, but the year of education for 14/15 year olds or 4th year away from University).

Takeaways opened this morning and there were queues extending miles down the road, of course our racist clickbaity media found a group of Polynesians who bought $100 worth of it (McDonalds) and showed them clowning it up for the camera and reinforcing racist stereotypes of Brown people being obese, stupid and going crazy for junk food. The media, which here is run by rich white, blue eyed blonde haired, right wing people - have an agenda to make all us Brown people look like barely educated, violent and unhealthy thugs and morons. You know White people buy McDonalds and eat garbage too! They even quoted idiomatic speech of these people "It was choice as aye bro".

No doubt in America they will show the same thing with Black people going crazy over fried chicken or some mess like that.

However unless you are working, getting food or medicine, you are still expected to stay home and funerals are limited to 10 people along with weddings, work registers must be kept and people are encouraged to keep a diary of personal movements, so contact tracing can start if you catch Covid 19. Level 3 means more people out and about and thus the risk of a second wave increases.

There will be 2 weeks at least at Level 3 and if we move to Level 2 - it will improve as shops will reopen along with Libraries and Swimming Pools etc and Movie theatres. Also hairdressers, beauty salons and non essential medical like Dentists will open - but after a complaint from some women who had severely sore rotten teeth, they decide to allow URGENT dental treatment in level 3 - but not routine check ups and fillings (My teeth started tingling today).

Hospitals will reallow some surgeries now - there was mass criticism as cancer patients and people suffering heart attacks were deferred as the Hospitals all geared for a deluge of Coved 19 cases and never more than 20 people ended up in hospital at once and all of the deaths were elderly people or ones with extreme health issues anyway.

To date 19 people have died, 15 of them from two rest home hospitals (10 from Rosewood in Christchurch and 4 from St Margarets Respite care in Auckland) and 4 other very ill old people - so our Health system was jettisoned a bit for a disaster that never really happened. Youngest death was 63 (She was really sick) and there were 6 in their 90s (Further age details not given).

Today just 3 more cases announced (1 confirmed, 2 probable) and to date 1472 cases of which 1123 confirmed, we have had 19 deaths and 1212 have recovered, currently 244 active cases down from a peak of 930 on April 5th.

I'm in the northern mid-west region of America, and from what I can see, I live in an isolated region where people haven't lost their minds.

Whatever the Governor has royally decreed is taken with a grain of salt.
Many stores are open, including some good restaurants. Fast food places have gone to drive-thru.
Hardware stores, building centers and gun shops are doing a brisk business.
We are a hearty and self sufficient bunch.
(The local coin shop is closed, and I have it on good authority that part of the reason is because he is sold out of gold and silver, and in part so he can catch up on mail orders of rare coins.)
Up here we prepare for uncertainty and are thrifty. Thus last Fall, most of us prepared for power outages and snow storms by stocking up on a few provisions.
I bought 2 twelve packs of bathroom tissue and a 60 ounce jug of hand sanitizer. As I do every Fall. Most of it I still have. And as always, I use the jug of sanitizer to fill the smaller bottles in the kitchen, workshop, bathroom, bedroom and auto.

While the actual illness is nothing to take lightly, the rest of the foolishness should be scrutinized.
All this activity isn't about your health.
Speculate as you might about what is going on, who is behind it and what the intend outcome is, you may rest assured it isn't about your health.

In Baja California, Mexico, only essential businesses are open (of course), but people are still actively moving about as they had before... but if you have no reason to be outside, the police write you a ticket. Regardless, like before, people order food through UberEats, which popular before has become even more popular, otherwise people can order "para llevar" in person.

Until very recently, masks were not required to go into stores. Some stores like Soriana or Walmart will give you a drop of hand sanitizer and check your temperature before entering, and some "non essential" departments are fenced off (famously, I think in Cd. Juarez, a store had prevented people from buying "non essential" diapers). Social distancing is restricted to 2-3 meters depending on the store. A month ago the country had decreed that beer production is non essential, so all of the supermarkets are sold out of national brands, and only Bud Light and imported beers are left. Some people even cross to the US just to buy Mexican beer.

Two months ago when the US government had declared that they would restrict border crossings, I was concerned that, as an American citizen, I would not be allowed back into Mexico because of my doubtful residency here, but since then it is the same as before. What used to be a 45 minute commute directly from my house in TJ to work in the US is now as short as 20 minutes. Even then, people have figured out that the border is not closed after all and the wait has gotten a little longer every week. I see that other responses mention that other countries have been loosening restrictions or opening up; this is not the case for Mexico. The country had started too late, and for the time being things are becoming more strict.

Lastly, when the oil crisis had occured a few months ago, I remember when the strong peso dropped from 18.7 per dollar to almost 21 in one day. Then 22. Then 23, until it peaked at 25 and dropped back to 23. Fortunately, this has made buying groceries and food much cheaper (a pizza that would have cost $7.50 now costs $5.50), but exchange houses refuse to budge and still sell pesos at 20-21 and buy at 21-22.