How long can the lockdown last?

Most of the European countries that already have lockdown restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic have extended them until Easter or shortly thereafter. However experts and many commentators expect the more or less strict lockdowns to continue beyond that point - and are looking at how to tackle this challenging situation.

Open/close all quotes
The Times (GB) /

The people's patience is not infinite

The curfews will be an acid test for politicians and society, The Times warns:

“This is the easy time. As this horror show drags into summer, I think we can expect divisions and flashpoints, not only from the impoverished and struggling but also from the young, the restless, and the deeply bored. Today, the government’s greatest challenge is protecting our health. Before long, it will be maintaining our consent to keep doing so. This will take unprecedented transparency and endless explanations as to what is being enforced, and why, and when it will end.”

Club Z (BG) /

Nothing new for Bulgarians

Life in isolation reminds writer Zachary Karabashliev of life in Bulgaria under the communist regime. He writes in Club Z:

“For more than 40 years the pandemic called communism besieged Eastern and Central Europe. ... Bulgaria was in the middle of it, surrounded by barbed wire. We were closely guarded. Those who wanted to break out were sent to prison or shot on the spot. ... That's how life in political quarantine was during the Cold War. We haven't forgotten it. What is happening now is nothing new for us Bulgarians. Nor is the looming economic crisis. We know what poverty is. We'll get through it.”