In February and March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic that started in late 2019, health authorities in Poland began laboratory testing of suspected cases of infection by SARS-CoV-2, one of the seven known human coronaviruses, as well as home quarantining and monitoring.
The first case of a laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in Poland was that of a man hospitalized in Zielona Góra, with confirmation announced officially on 4 March 2020.
The local transmission phase of SARS-CoV-2 in Poland was declared to the World Health Organization on 10 March.
The first death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Poland was that of a 56-year-old woman on 12 March.
Polish authorities did not take part in the 28 February 2020 European Union procedure for purchasing COVID-19 pandemic related medical equipment, in which 20 other member states participated. Poland applied on 6 March for the 17 March tender for the purchase of gloves, goggles, face shields, surgical masks and protective clothing.
, there were 16,921 laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases, 839 deaths, and 6131 recoveries.
Lockdown-type control measures started on 10–12 March, closing schools and university classes and cancelling mass events, and were strengthened on 25 March. It limited non-family gatherings to two people and religious gatherings to six and did not allow any non-essential travel.
Death counts initially only included deaths from lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Starting on 1 April 2020, deaths that were clinically diagnosed as COVID-19 were also considered as COVID-19 deaths. , people in Poland who died in quarantine from suspected COVID-19 were not tested for SARS-CoV-2 in their autopsy.
, there were 269,307 people under quarantine for suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection and 42,783 SARS-CoV-2 tests had been made since the beginning of testing. The lockdown restrictions were tightened starting on 31 March–1 April, making individuals walking in streets to be separated by two metres, closing parks, boulevards, beaches, hairdressers and beauty salons.
COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea
There are no officially confirmed cases of COVID-19 in North Korea, though foreign analysts believe that the virus has spread to the country.
The North Korean government has taken extreme measures, including quarantines and travel restrictions.
On 25 July 2020, Leader Kim Jong-un held an emergency meeting after a suspected case of COVID-19 detected on North Korean town of Kaesong. Then the city was put on lockdown.
North Korea was one of the first countries to close borders due to COVID-19. The government has created widespread travel restrictions, including closing the border to foreign tourists in late January 2020 and then suspending flights and banning travel in and out of the country.
Though many parts of the border were closed, the bridge between Dandong and Sinuiju remained open and allowed supplies to be delivered.
In late February, the North Korean government said that it would keep the border closed until a cure was found.
On 18 March 2020, Kim Jong-un ordered the construction of new hospitals in North Korea.
COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel was confirmed on 21 February 2020, after a female citizen tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 after return from quarantine on the "Diamond Princess" ship in Japan.
As a result, a 14-day home isolation rule was created for anyone who had visited South Korea or Japan, and a ban was placed on non-residents and non-citizens who were in South Korea for 14 days before their arrival.
Beginning on 11 March, Israel began enforcing social distancing and other rules to limit the spread of infection.
Gatherings were first restricted to no more than 100 people, but on 15 March this was lowered to 10 people.
On 19 March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a national state of emergency. Israelis were not allowed to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary.
As coronavirus diagnoses spiked in the city of Bnei Brak, reaching nearly 1,000 infected individuals at the beginning of April, the cabinet voted to declare the city a "restricted zone". On 12 April, Haredi neighborhoods in Jerusalem were placed under closure.
On 20 March, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor in Jerusalem who suffered from previous illnesses was announced as the country's first death.
Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus on 2 April; Litzman was the first member of the cabinet to be infected.
Diamond Princess (ship)
Diamond Princess is a British-registered cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She began operation in March 2004 and mainly cruises in Asia during the northern hemisphere summer and Australia during the southern hemisphere summer.
"Diamond Princess" was built in Nagasaki, Japan, by Mitsubishi Industries.
There have been two known outbreaks of infectious disease on the ship – an outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by norovirus in 2016 and an outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus in 2020. At least 712 out of the 3,711 passengers and crew were infected, and fourteen have died.
COVID-19 pandemic in Honduras
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to Honduras on 10 March 2020.
The first case of COVID-19 was when two women tested positive for the disease after one of them landed on Toncontin International Airport in a flight from Madrid, Spain and the other on Ramón Villeda Morales Airport in a flight from Geneva, Switzerland.
, there are 1,685 confirmed cases in the country, 1211 in the Cortes Department, 259 in the Francisco Morazan Department, 56 in the Yoro Department, 47 in the Atlantida Department, and 42 in the Colon Department; 105 people have died and 154 have recovered from the virus and its complications.
Confirmed cases have been reported in 16 of the country's 18 departments.
Since then, the country has closed all of its borders. They suspended classes at all levels of education nationwide, ordered a nationwide curfew, and price freezes for basic food items and certain medical supplies and equipment. This was done to stop prices from going up due to panic buying.
COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Egypt by 14 February 2020. As of 1 May 2020, there have been 5,895 confirmed cases, 1,460 recoveries and 406 deaths.
All flights from China to Egypt have been banned since 26 January. Egypt's health ministry announced the first case in the country at Cairo International Airport involving a Chinese national on 14 February.
Egyptian authorities had talked to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the patient had been placed in quarantined isolation in hospital.
On 8 March, a 60-year-old German citizen died in Hurghada, the first German fatality from the virus. The next day, the World Health Organization said that there were 56 confirmed cases in Egypt. On the same day, the Egyptian Minister of Tourism said that they discovered 3 additional cases with three people who work in a hotel.
In early April, cases surpassed 1000.
COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to Belgium on 4 February 2020.
The first case was when a Belgian national out of a group of nine Belgians came from Wuhan to Brussels was reported to have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
The disease spreading within Belgium was then confirmed early March, and was linked to holidaymakers returning from Northern Italy at the end of the half-term holidays.
As of 14 May 2020, there have been 54,288 confirmed cases reported by the Belgian authorities, with a total of 8,924 deaths and 14,111 discharged patients.
Currently, 1,966 people in Belgian hospitals are suffering from COVID-19, including 407 in intensive care. The actual number of victims maybe higher due to limited testing.
COVID-19 pandemic in Syria