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

Some include total movement control while others have enforced restrictions based on time. In many cases, only essential businesses are allowed to remain open. Schools, universities and colleges have closed either on a nationwide or local basis in 63 countries, affecting approximately 47 percent of the world's student population.^[1][2]

Beginning with the first lockdown in China's Hubei province^[3] and nationwide in Italy in March 2020, lockdowns continued to be implemented in many countries throughout 2020 and 2021. On 24 March 2020, the entire 1.3 billion population of India was ordered to stay at home during its lockdown, making it the largest of the pandemic.^[4] The world's longest continuous lockdown lasting 234 days took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2020. As of October 2021, the city of Melbourne, Australia, and certain cities in Peru and Chile spent the most cumulative days in lockdown over separate periods, although measures varied between these countries.^[5][6]

A few countries and territories did not use the strategy, including Japan, Belarus, Nicaragua, Sweden, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uruguay, two states in Brazil and certain United States states.

Countries and territories with lockdowns

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (May 2021)

Argentina

Australia

A number of Australian states, territories, and cities have implemented lockdowns in response to the pandemic. The country entered a general nationwide lockdown on 23 March 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic,^[22] which was lifted on 15 May 2020.^[23]

The state of Victoria, particularly its capital city of Melbourne, the country's second most populous city with five million residents, entered an extended lockdown on 7 July 2020 in response to a rapidly growing community outbreak. Initial measures included the closure of all non-essential services, including retail entertainment venues and gyms. Restaurant and bar establishments were permitted to open in take-away and delivery capacities only. Schools and childcare facilities were also ordered to close. Face coverings were made mandatory as of 23 July 2020, with a fine of $200 AUD for non-compliance to those above 12 years of age, although formal exemptions could be acquired. Initially scheduled to last six weeks, restrictions were tightened further on 2 August after cases continued to grow, including a ban on travel further than a five kilometre radius from place of residence, a nighttime curfew of 8pm to 5am, a one-hour limit on outdoor exercise, a one-person per day limit on shopping for essentials, and public gatherings limited to a maximum of two people.^[24] Restrictions were progressively eased as the case rate declined, and were completely lifted on 28 October. With a total duration of 112 days, the Victorian lockdown was at the time the longest continuous period of COVID-19 lockdown globally as of October 2020.^[25] The lockdown resulted in the state recording zero active cases of COVID-19 in November 2020.^{[citation needed]}

Victoria entered its fourth lockdown on 28 May 2021^[26][27] in response to an outbreak of the Delta variant.^[28] Originally scheduled for seven days, the lockdown was extended to two weeks and lifted on 10 June.^[29] Another outbreak of the Delta variant saw Greater Sydney enter lockdown on 26 June 2021, scheduled to last until 16 July,^[30] but extended by two weeks on 14 July^[31] then until 28 August^[32] and the end of September 2021.^[33] Combined with snap lockdowns declared in Brisbane, Perth, and Darwin, more than 12 million people were in lockdown across Australia on 29 June 2021.^[34]

Brief "snap lockdowns" in response to new clusters, particularly of the Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants, have been implemented at various times across the country.^[35][36][37]

Metropolitan Melbourne's 6th lockdown ended in October 2021, with the city spending among the longest amounts of time spent in lockdown in the world.^[38][6]