A general closure of services and retail sale was in place from 14 March until 11 May, however all shops could conduct distance sales with delivery from 24 March onwards. Government didn't order closure of manufacturing plants, but many did so voluntarily during second half of March with gradual reopening from 14 April.
Czech Republic was first European country to make wearing of facemasks mandatory from 19 March onwards.
COVID-19 testing was made widely available with drive through locations from 14 March, and from 27 March anyone with a fever, dry cough or shortness of breath being eligible for a free test.
From 13 April onwards, COVID-19 testing passed its demand.
Contact tracing in the country included also voluntary disclosure of mobile phone position and debit card payments data for previous days and quaranting of identified contacts.
By 1 May 2020, altogether 257 COVID-19 related deaths were identified in the Czech Republic compared to 2,719 in similarly populous Sweden, which did not impose any lockdown.
Czech Republic started gradual easing of measures from 7 April 2020 onwards with most restrictions being lifted by 11 May 2020.
COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic spread to Hungary on 4 March 2020, when the first cases in the country were announced.
The first coronavirus-related death was announced on 15 March on the government's official website.
On 18 March, the government announced that the virus had spread to every part of the country.
As at the beginning the pandemic, Hungarians living in China who wanted to move back to Europe were transported home through France. The affected seven persons were under quarantine for two weeks. As they remained healthy during the next two weeks, they were released on 16 February.
The Government of Hungary launched its official webpage and official Facebook page about the novel coronavirus, both on 4 March 2020.
On 11 March, the Hungarian government declared a state of emergency.
COVID-19 pandemic in El Salvador
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached El Salvador on 18 March 2020.
As of 13 May 2020, El Salvador reported 1,112 cases, 20 deaths and 405 recoveries.
On 31 March 2020, the first COVID-19 death in El Salvador was confirmed.
President Nayib Bukele banned public gathering of more than 500 people and shut down educational institutions on 17 March.
El Salvador had arrested more people for violating the quarantine than it had diagnosed cases of COVID-19, a total of 2,424 people had been arrested for violating quarantine orders, and 48,913 people had been tested for the virus.
COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Afghanistan in Herat, was confirmed on 24 February 2020.
As of 14 May 2020, there have been 5,639 positive cases, with 691 recoveries and 136 deaths across all 34 provinces in the country. Kabul Province has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Afghanistan at 1556, followed by Herat with 935 cases, and then Kandahar with 613 cases.
In March 2020, at least 150,000 Afghans returned from Iran, due to the outbreak across the country, at the Islam Qala border in Herat Province.
As many as over 1000 people a day crossed the border during the month. Between March and April 2020, the number of cases increased in Herat Province to over 200 cases.
At the Chaman and Torkham borders, over 60,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan in three days.
On 14 March, President Ashraf Ghani, told the public to avoid large public gatherings and to pay attention to hygiene to prevent the spread of the disease.
On 18 March, the Ministry of Interior Affairs banned all large gatherings, including the closure of venues that attract large crowds such as entertainment places, sports grounds, swimming pools, fitness clubs and wedding halls.
Arthur Holmes
Arthur Holmes (18901965) was an English geologist. He made two important contributions: the use of radioactive isotopes for dating minerals, and the suggestion that convection currents in the mantle play an important role in continental drift.
Holmes showed us that thermal convection currents were strong enough to move large land masses, which contributed to Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift or theory of Plate tectonics. Harry H. Hess (19061969) also supported this view.
Holmes was a pioneer of geochronology, and performed the first accurate uranium-lead radiometric dating while an undergraduate in London. This gave a date of of 370 mya to a Devonian rock from Norway. This result was published in 1911, after his graduation in 1910.
Holmes worked on the problem of the age of the Earth all his life. He reached an approximately correct estimate by the 1940s of 4,500±100 mya.
COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Pakistan on 26 February 2020.
The first case in Pakistan happened when a student in Karachi tested positive after returning from Iran. By 18 March, cases had been registered in all four provinces, the two autonomous territories, and the federal territory of Islamabad.
there have been over 34,300 confirmed cases with 8,812 recoveries and 737 deaths in the country. Punjab has recorded the most cases at over 13,200, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported the most deaths in the country, a total of 245.
The country has been put under a nation-wide lockdown until 9 May, which was initiated on 1 April and later extended twice. On 7 May, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced to slowly end lockdown phase from 9 May 2020.
According to a report by the federal government, Pakistan could have expected 50,000 cases of the disease by 25 April. However, the number by then remained under 13,000, less than half of what was expected.
Pakistan started vaccine trials in collaboration with Sinopharm, a Chinese pharmaceutical company in April 2020.
COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela
As part of an ongoing worldwide pandemic, the first two patients with COVID-19 in Venezuela were confirmed on 13 March 2020; the first death was reported on 26 March.
However, the first record of a patient claiming to have symptoms of coronavirus disease dates back to 29 February 2020, with government officials suspecting that the first person carrying the virus could have entered the country as early as 25 February.
Venezuela is particularly vulnerable to the pandemic because of its ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis causing massive shortages of food and basic necessities, including medical supplies.
The mass emigration of Venezuelan doctors has also caused chronic staff shortages in hospitals.
To prevent the spread of the disease into Venezuela, the governments of Brazil and Colombia temporarily closed their borders with Venezuela.
Stay-at-home orders were announced on 15 March, when the country registered another seven cases, and introduced the next day across six states and the Caracas area.
It was on the first day of the quarantine across six states, 16 March, that Argentina's ambassador in Venezuela, Eduardo Porretti, tested positive for the virus, and Nicolás Maduro announced that sixteen new cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 33. Maduro extended the quarantine to the entire country.
COVID-19 pandemic in Panama
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Panama on 9 March 2020.
, Panama reported 2528 cases, 63 deaths and 16 recoveries. One of the dead was a 64-year-old male, who also suffered from diabetes and pneumonia.
Of those infected, 83 were sent to a hospital. The infected individuals belong to the 29-59 age group and had each recently traveled abroad.
A 13-year-old girl died of Covid-19 on 23 March.
The government declared a state of emergency on 13 March 2020. The move frees US$50 million for a period of 180 days to purchase goods and services to combat COVID-19.
COVID-19 pandemic in Bolivia