India is currently in the period of an extended lockdown. However, India is not the only country to have chosen lockdown measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. More than 90 countries around the world have imposed a partial or full lockdown. Here is a detailed explainer on lockdown measures in some of the important countries around the world. Addressing the nation on 14 April 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the extension of the Nation-wide lockdown till 03 May 2020. This extension is in continuation of the initial 21 day lockdown which was announced on 24 March 2020, in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Thelockdown being imposed in India is a complete lockdown, which means that thepeople are required not to step out of their houses, except for essentials andemergencies. The 2 phase of lockdown, however, includes certainrelaxations in non-hotspot districts and areas. On 15 April 2020, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued the revised guidelines in view of the lockdown extension. Prior to the nationwide lockdown, few states like Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka etc. had already announced state-wide lockdowns in view of the prevalence of COVID-19 in the respective states. Withits initial lockdown announcement on 24 March 2020, India joined a growing listof countries which have announced lockdown as a preventive measure in wake ofCOVID-19 epidemic. More than 90 countries have imposed partial or completelockdowns. In this story, we take a look at lockdown & other containmentmeasures implemented by countries across the globe. Lockdown as a pre-emptive measure Lockdownis an emergency protocol imposed by someone in authority and prevents people fromleaving a designated area. Although in recent times it is being associated withpublic health concern, it is not always the case. Lockdowns have been earlierused as a response to an emergency situation. For e.g. terrorist attack orthreats, rioting etc. Inhealth-related terms, ‘Quarantine’ is the technical term which is used inreference to contain and restricting the movement of an infected person or asuspect, to contain the spread of an infectious disease. TheWorld Health Organization (WHO) has issued guidelines for quarantine of individuals in context of containment of COVID-19. However,implementing lockdown measures for a health-related issue is beyond thesuggested actions and guidelines of WHO. The first instance of the same wasannounced in the place of origin of COVID-19 i.e. Wuhan, China. In the wake of outbreak of COVID-19, in Wuhan (China), quarantine measures were announced on 23 January 2020 which not only restricted the movement in and out of Wuhan & other cities in Hubei province, but also movement within the city with the exception of emergency services. The WHO albeit terming the lockdown as ‘unprecedented in Public Health History’ supported it as a key move towards containing the epidemic. Thisaction has been later replicated in other countries like Italy and Spain wherethe number of people infected with COVID-19 was increasing at alarming levels. Manyof the countries which have announced the lockdown have termed it as a pre-emptivemeasure to: Lockdown in Wuhan and other infected areas helped in containing COVID-19 Asper available information, during mid-December, a new cluster of people inWuhan linked to the Huanan Seafood Market were diagnosed with pneumonia. Thecause was traced to a new strain of Coronavirus. Therehave been cases of initial panic among the public as well as on the economic front post the announcement of the lockdown. However, WHO backedthis move. While few experts thought of this as an overreaction on part of thegovernment, few other experts supported the lockdown measures whose studies indicate that the lockdown hashelped in containing the spread. Italy and France among the first countries in Europe to announce lockdowns Europehas been badly hit by COVID-19, with many countries like Italy, Spain, France, UnitedKingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal etc. reporting a high number ofCOVID-19 cases. The responses of each of these countries has been varied. Italy Ason date, Italy is the second worst affected country in terms of fatalities. Itis also the first COVID-19 epicentre beyond Wuhan. The first cases of thisdisease were confirmed by the Italian government on 30 January 2020. These were two Chinese touristsvisiting Italy. Lombardy was the first region which was majorly hit by the disease. France Spain Spaincurrently has the second highest number of infected cases and the third highestnumber of deaths caused due to COVID-19. United Kingdom UnitedKingdom was comparatively late in announcing a nation-wide lockdown, in spiteof the increasing COVID-19 positive Cases.