Venezuela Under Quarantine

Venezuela was put on nationwide lockdown on Tuesday to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The move extended a partial “collective quarantine” applied to seven regions on Monday, with all movement and commercial activity limited across the country. Those working in food production and distribution, security, healthcare, transport and the press are exempt from the measure.

Most international flights, as well as all internal flights, long-distance land transport, and inner-city internal bus networks have been cancelled, with state-run mass transport reserved for healthcare and security workers only.

On Tuesday night, government spokemen announced a “90 percent adherence” to the measure on the first two days of quarantine.

However, the ongoing economic crisis in the country, which has left many without savings, has limited people’s ability to abstain from working and to purchase food supplies for long periods of time, making it harder to enforce the necessary health measure.