COVID-19 lockdowns in the context of "Economic impact of COVID-19"

The global COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon afterward, it spread to other parts of Asia and then worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and assessed it as having become a pandemic on 11 March. The WHO declared the public health emergency caused by COVID-19 had ended in May 2023.

COVID-19 symptoms range from asymptomatic to deadly, but most commonly include fever, sore throat, nocturnal cough, and fatigue. Transmission of the virus is often through airborne particles. Mutations have produced many strains (variants) with varying degrees of infectivity and virulence. COVID-19 vaccines were developed rapidly and deployed to the general public beginning in December 2020, made available through government and international programmes such as COVAX, aiming to provide vaccine equity. Treatments include novel antiviral drugs and symptom control. Common mitigation measures during the public health emergency included travel restrictions, lockdowns, business restrictions and closures, workplace hazard controls, mask mandates, quarantines, testing systems, and contact tracing of the infected.

The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (abbreviated CALD), commonly referred to as the Cambridge Dictionary, is a British dictionary of the English language. It was first published in 1995 under the title Cambridge International Dictionary of English by the Cambridge University Press. The dictionary has over 140,000 words, phrases, and meanings. It is suitable for learners at CEF levels B2–C2.

The Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year, by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, has been published every year since 2015. The Cambridge Word of the Year is led by the data – what users look up – in the world's most popular dictionary for English language learners. In 2022, the Cambridge Word of the Year was "homer", caused by Wordle players looking up five-letter words, especially those that non-American players were less familiar with. In 2021, the Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year was "perseverance". In 2020, it was "quarantine" due to the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the seventh-most-populous city in China. It is also one of China's nine national central cities.

Wuhan historically served as a busy city port for commerce and trading with some crucial influences on Chinese history. The name "Wuhan" came from the city's historical origin from the conglomeration of Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, which are collectively known as the "Three Towns of Wuhan" (武汉三镇). Wuhan lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain, at the confluence of the Yangtze river and its largest tributary, the Han River, and is known as "Nine Provinces' Thoroughfare" (九省通衢). Wuhan was the site of the 1911 Wuchang Uprising against the Qing dynasty which ended 2,000 years of dynastic rule. Wuhan was briefly a capital of China twice, in 1927 under a left wing Kuomintang (KMT) government, and in 1937 as a provisional wartime capital during World War II. In 1938, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the city was the site of the Battle of Wuhan. On December 31, 2019, SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus that later caused the COVID-19 pandemic, was first discovered in Wuhan and the city was the location of the first lockdown of the pandemic in January 2020.

Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narrators, singers, musicians, podcast hosts, and documentary makers at all levels of success. The cost of professional audio equipment has dropped steadily as technology advances during the 21st century, while information about recording techniques has become easily available online. These trends have resulted in an increase in the popularity of home recording and a shift in the recording industry toward recording in the home studio.

In 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 lockdowns resulted in a dramatic global increase in the number of remote workers in 2020, as well as home-based recording artists, which also led to the proliferation of internet-based microgenres like bedroom pop and egg punk.

Countries and territories around the world enforced lockdowns of varying stringency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some included total movement control while others enforced restrictions based on time. In many cases, only essential businesses were allowed to remain open. Schools, universities and colleges closed either on a nationwide or local basis in 63 countries, affecting approximately 47 percent of the world's student population.

The COVID-19 recession was a global economic recession caused by COVID-19 lockdowns. The recession began in most countries in February 2020. After a year of global economic slowdown that saw stagnation of economic growth and consumer activity, the COVID-19 lockdowns and other precautions taken in early 2020 drove the global economy into crisis. Within seven months, every advanced economy had fallen to recession.

The first major sign of recession was the 2020 stock market crash, which saw major indices drop 20 to 30% in late February and March. Recovery began in early April 2020; by April 2022, the GDP for most major economies had either returned to or exceeded pre-pandemic levels and many market indices recovered or even set new records by late 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand was part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case of the disease in New Zealand was reported on 28 February 2020. The country recorded over 2,274,370 cases (2,217,047 confirmed and 57,323 probable). Over 3,000 people died as a result of the pandemic, with cases recorded in all twenty district health board (DHB) areas. The pandemic first peaked in early April 2020, with 89 new cases recorded per day and 929 active cases. Cases peaked again in October 2021 with 134 new cases reported on 22 October.

In response to the first outbreak in late February 2020, the New Zealand Government closed the country's borders and imposed lockdown restrictions. A four-tier alert level system was introduced on 21 March 2020 to manage the outbreak within New Zealand. After a two-month nationwide lockdown, from 26 March to 27 May 2020, regionalised alert level changes were also used; the Auckland Region entered lockdown twice, in August–September 2020 and February–March 2021. The country then went for several months without any community transmission, with all cases restricted to the managed isolation system.