11??! But seriously, 10. I try to live one day at a time because I don't know what's gonna happen next.

WHAT WE NEED:
Mass testing for coronavirus!

Camille
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Journalist

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest, 10 highest):
7 due to the fact that the virus can be spread easily.

WHAT WE NEED: Aside from being properly informed of COVID-19, people should be more caring and more responsible and more sensitive to care for others.

Luisa
Head of staff and training at a company

Muscat, Oman

Mood is somber. The usual noise from tourist buses unloading or loading tourists in a nearby hotel is gone. Pool is closed.

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest-10 highest):

Am not stressed at all. Not to brag but I am enjoying the company of myself. Boredom has not set in yet. Ask me again in the next few weeks. . . .

WHAT WE NEED:

A different kind of love but one that is deeper and beyond the physical. Seriously, the thing that binds us as humans, physical contact and love, could lead to our demise, until of course everyone is successfully inoculated with a vaccine. Paraphrasing a meme I received the other day: we survived unprotected sex but only to die with an unprotected handshake ;-)

Albert, 

Researcher

Bangkok, Thailand

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest-10 highest):

7

WHAT WE NEED:

A vaccine

Chewie

Pasig City, Philippines

Airline pilot

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Communications professional

Some are worried but some do not care. People are also concentrating on the wrong things - i.e. stock piling toilet paper, hand sanitiser and wine / beer but also rice, bread, flour and meat. There is a rise in the sale of freezers / fridge. Bars restaurants cafes in some cities almost empty but in others they look normal.

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest-10 highest):

About 6 . Umuwi ako from South Australia to Brisbane dahil i want to be with the boys (my 2 kids) if any of us get sick.

WHAT WE NEED:

A better understanding of the situation so everyone will behave more responsibly.

Stella

Geologist

Brisbane, Australia

Concerned.  Ethiopia is taking several measures to limit the spread though some are skeptical. Personally, I am fearful. With locals blaming foreigners for the spread of COVID-19, anti-foreigner sentiment, harassment and assault have escalated countrywide.

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest-10 highest):

9. The combination of health and personal safety threats in resource-strapped Ethiopia is taking a huge toll on my mind and body in DOG years.

WHAT WE NEED:

A cure - whether that’s antibodies or vaccine - that can be mass produced and mass distributed.

K
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Public engagement professional

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest-10 highest):

3

WHAT WE NEED:

Abide by the law imposed by the government. Unity, and the most important thing always is to pray. We all know that prayer is always the most powerful weapon.

Marflo
Yangon, Myanmar
Quality assurance/quality control manager

We've been here for more than two weeks now in the anchorage area (off the port of Vancouver). During coffee breaks, you hear a lot of speculation (on COVID-19). But this is only in the engine department. I'm not sure how it is with the guys manning the deck. People constantly check Facebook. The funny stuff somehow helps ease the stress. But mostly, they feel sorry for people who have just enough to get by.

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest-10 highest):

6

WHAT WE NEED:

Unity – not just in the coronavirus. We have a lot of other problems, global warming, poverty etc.

Dennesh

Marine engineer

Off the coast of Vancouver, Canada

(Translated from Visayan)

People are on edge because there's a lot of uncertainty since the first case was announced. New info is coming out that Case 1 breached self-quarantine protocols and there is no assurance that complete contact tracing was done.

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest-10 highest):

10 - Our children are living away from us, we're all living away from home, worrying about our loved ones back in PH and there is no flight in and out of where we are, until at least 31 May.

WHAT WE NEED:

Global leadership. Someone to inspire us to come together, acting and guiding us during this difficult time. It feels like it's every country for itself, even those with good leaders and we envy those that can look after their citizens everywhere.

Jay

Suva, Fiji

IT professional

The mood is somber. Most people are staying home per the mayor’s instructions. Nearly all stores are closed. Few people and cars are on the streets. But since New Yorkers are quite persevering and stoic, everyone is trying to make the best of the quarantine situation and being very cooperative.

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest-10 highest):

I am probably at a 7. I have read reports of even young healthy people dying from the disease so it’s worrisome.

WHAT WE NEED:

Social cooperation. The only way we can flatten the curve and save the vulnerable is if everyone cooperates in staying home and practicing social distancing. Unfortunately I still hear reports of many Americans gathering publicly in large groups and being defiant of public health officials’ advice. And so the virus continues to spread.

Therese

New York, NY, USA

Technology professional

I would say everybody here reacts differently - lot of people panicking, buying lots of stuff so the supermarkets are empty. On the other hand I can also see the nice things people do which I didn't think it would happen on such a big scale - medicine students helping in hospitals, scout organizations delivering groceries to older people who need it and almost everybody making the face veils not just for them, but for hospitals as well, because there is a lack of them.

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest-10 highest):

3

WHAT WE NEED:

To think about others and (in whatever way) get involved in helping other people and overcoming this as quickly as we can.

Adelaide

Kutná Hora, Czech Republic

Grammar school student

Bukas naman mga grocery, pharmacy, banks at may public transpo. Lumalabas lang dito ay mga trabahador, mag-grocery at bibili ng gamot.

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest-10 highest):

6-7 kasi pinapag-work pa rin ako ng employer ko - na dapat sana ay stay at home na.

WHAT WE NEED:

Sundin yung precautions to prevent COVID 19, stay at home, social distancing.

Daisy

Turin, Italy 

Caregiver

Odense, Denmark

Stay-at-home-mum/
freelance writer

People are scared. You can see that in the number of people lining up in the groceries and the text messages passed on from one person to another. it becomes all the more scary inside groceries and Costco warehouse because things that we need are either not there or are on limited supply. And now there's news about projections of 100,000 to 200,000 deaths and millions infected if....

STRESS LEVEL: (10 being the highest), what is your stress level?

Maybe 8 to 9, not for myself but for people I am with. Because I am the one doing the groceries and cooking. There are 2 senior citizens who live alone that we help out by buying their groceries and bringing food twice a week. So if i get the virus, am afraid that I'll pass it on to them and of course, here in the house of my friend who is hypertensive and borderline diabetic. I am diabetic and hypertensive as well.

WHAT WE NEED:

Tempting to just sing 'what the world needs now is love, sweet love'. But what we need are good leaders and a thinking, caring and patient populace. We need to listen to health experts.

Booma

Burbank, California, USA

Editor

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

 

STRESS LEVEL: (10 being the highest), what is your stress level?
9, because I am still working and monitoring COVID-19 situation back home. 

WHAT WE NEED:
Good leadership. People often step up during difficult times. They become more generous, patient, kind. But they need a leader to show them this, and to show them what’s going on. They need someone who tempers fear and panic.

Shy 
Doctor, Doctors Without Borders 

Juba, South Sudan

STRESS LEVEL (1 lowest, 10 highest):
6

WHAT WE NEED

Cooperation. All of us, not only governments, have a role to play.  We can pool our resources and share knowledge and skills on how to deal with the pandemic, including finding the treatment.

Richel
Jakarta, Indonesia
Teacher

The aggressive support of the government, both at the national and local levels, covering all citizens, including foreign residents, has been reassuring the public. Majority of citizens abide by (or try to, at the very least) the regulations of the government. 

Health care facilities are well equipped, and information is transmitted in a swift and orderly manner, available to be accessed virtually. For example, there are apps that allow anyone to check where confirmed patients went to, availability of masks in nearby pharmacies. However, while there is effort to provide all possible services in different languages, there is still limited availability of information outside of Korean. 

STRESS LEVEL: (10 being the highest), what is your stress level?

4.With readily available and affordable health service, financially covered by the government, I think that any foreign resident in Korea, including Filipinos, will agree that there is an overall sense of confidence in the capacity of the Korean government to face COVID-19, despite the need to be extra cautious at all times. I worry that the very inviting spring weather may tempt more people to gather in public spaces and contribute to the spread of the virus. 

WHAT WE NEED:

Even in countries such as Korea, vulnerable groups of people exist. While acting on most urgent issues, there should be dedicated effort to provide for those at the edges of the society. If this crisis is extended, we need to be prepared to live our lives in the “new normal”. We must prevent conflict at all costs; we must remember that this crisis is not only about one county but is an issue that whole of humanity is facing. Filipinos are called to look at this crisis from the global perspective, learning from other countries and contributing to global solidarity. 

Rigo 

Seoul, Korea

Project manager, multilateral agency