AS WORLD BATTLES CORONAVIRUS, GOVERNMENTS COME UNDER FIRE
While countries around the world are imposing lockdowns and firmly handling violators, some citizens and activists are raising a few hard questions
French disconnection
In France, where the government imposed a lockdown on March 17 in a bid to get a grip on soaring cases and deaths, calls for national unity have been mixed with scathing criticism of the government, particularly over a shortage of face masks. The head of the right-wing opposition Republicans in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, described the government's response as "chaotic". Several criminal complaints have been lodged against members of the French government, accusing them of endangering lives, even of manslaughter.
‘Everyone is exposed’
In Europe and America, there are clear signs of public anger. "We don't have enough money, we don't have enough tests and we don't have enough protective equipment. Everyone in the hospital is extremely exposed," seethes Andrew who works in a New York hospital. "People we could have saved are dying, as they could not be admitted into intensive care," said Sara Chinchilla, who works at a Madrid hospital.
Denial, denial, denial
Much is at stake in countries that have been dominated by a single ruler for decades, where the public will expect political stability to deliver some kind of sanctuary from the crisis. The Turkish government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was boasting in early March that the country had not a single confirmed case. By now it has registered nearly 300 deaths. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 17 that the situation was "under control" in his country but the increasing number of cases has since forced a lockdown in much of the country. And an escalating crisis in Iran belies early statements by its leadership that the epidemic would soon end.