New York City's once-bustling Times Square. Photo: Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images
The novel coronavirus pandemic is having a huge impact on the lives of people around the world.
The big picture: The first known case outside China was in Thailand on Jan. 13. Since then, governments around the world have responded to surging case numbers with a range of measures designed to curb the spread of the virus. There were more than 723,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections by early Monday, per Johns Hopkins data.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a news briefing with a limited number of journalists allowed placed at a distance to each other, Berlin, Germany. Photo: Markus Schreiber/Pool/AFP via Getty ImagesA priest holds Sunday mass as he looks toward photographs sent in by his parishioners, Giussano, Italy. Photo: Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty ImagesA woman receives a rose delivered to her via a drone in Lebanon's coastal city of Jounieh. Photo: Joseph EidAFP via Getty ImagesA train marked with red crosses to ensure physical distancing, Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo: Abdul Qodir/AFP via Getty ImagesCustomers maintain physical distancing as they wait to enter a mall, Ahmedabad, India. Photo: Sam Panthaky/AFP via Getty ImagesTwo women observe social distancing measures as they speak to each other from adjacent park benches, York, England. Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty ImagesPakistan's capital Karachi has designated areas marked on the ground to maintain physical distancing. Photo: Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty ImagesAn official takes people's temperatures in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province, where COVID-19 was discovered and where restrictions have eased after a drop in case numbers. Photo: Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty ImagesNuns sing in a church, Barcelona. Photo: Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty ImagesA South African Police Service member makes shoppers hold their hands out in front of them to ensure social distancing outside a supermarket, Yeoville, Johannesburg. Photo: Marco Longari/AFP via Getty ImagesThe Paddison family updates their roadside isolation countdown sign in Auckland, New Zealand. The country is in the midst of a four-week lockdown, which requires people to stay at home but permits them to exercise outdoors in their neighborhood if they keep 6.5 feet from people who are not members of their household.