• As millions of people across the globe remain under coronavirus lockdown, life continues...
  • A Spanish couple taught their grandchild how to bake cookies over a video call.
  • Another couple got engaged on their balcony, cheered on by neighbours. A former US Marine nurse turned 104, with well-wishers and friends gathering near her home to celebrate.

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Lockdown has changed the daily lives of millions of people around the world. Many are finding inventive new ways to boost their spirits while isolating themselves from friends and family. Life continues: birthdays and anniversaries are still being celebrated and, as the following pictures attest, people are still managing to connect while staying apart.

A child makes cookies following the instructions of his grandparents via Facebook's Messenger video-chat in an iPad during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in El Masnou, north of Barcelona, Spain, April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Albert Gea
Technology is allowing relatives to keep in touch.
Image: REUTERS/Albert Gea

With the older generations taking particular care to isolate themselves, grandchildren are temporarily separated from their grandparents. But technology is filling the gap: this boy in El Masnou, Spain, was guided by his grandparents to make cookies during the course of a video call.

Neighbours celebrate the engagement of Juan Manuel Zamorano, 32, and Elena Gonzalez, 31, after she proposed to him at the balcony of their house, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in downtown Ronda, southern Spain, April 7, 2020. REUTERS/Jon Nazca TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Lockdown has proved no barrier to love.
Image: REUTERS/Jon Nazca

Proposing on a balcony during lockdown may not be traditional, but neighbours joined in the celebrations as Juan Manuel Zamorano and Elena Gonzalez got engaged in Ronda, Spain.

Residents take part in a fitness class 'On the Step' led by Simon Garner in Kennington, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, London, Britain, April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Doorstep fitness classes are allowing people to stay active.
Image: REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Staying fit and active can be a struggle under lockdown – yet physical activity is also beneficial to mental health. Residents in a borough of London, UK, gathered on their doorsteps for a fitness class.

What is the World Economic Forum doing about the coronavirus outbreak?

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forum’s mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

Since its launch on 11 March, the Forum’s COVID Action Platform has brought together 1,667 stakeholders from 1,106 businesses and organizations to mitigate the risk and impact of the unprecedented global health emergency that is COVID-19.

The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.

As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched – bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.

Dance instructor Morgan Jenkins makes a video in front of a mural during the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 3, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Stay at home messages have popped up all across the world.
Image: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

In Los Angeles in the US, a dance instructor filmed a video in front of a giant mural. Data shows people are largely following the instructions to stay home.

Well-wishers and friends gather on the street outside the home of former U.S. Marine nurse Ruth Gallivan to help celebrate her 104th birthday during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Ruth Gallivan in San Diego, USA, turned 104 during the lockdown.
Image: REUTERS/Mike Blake

Well-wishers and friends gathered outside the home of Ruth Gallivan in San Diego, USA, to help celebrate her birthday. The former US Marine nurse turned 104 during the outbreak.

Bastien Gambaudo, young member of the neighbourhood association The Committee of Old Nice, brings grocery bags to an old woman as he offers grocery shopping assistance to the elderly and isolated people living in the old city of Nice, during a lockdown imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, March 26, 2020. Picture taken March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard - RC2ESF9ZELFH
Support schemes have provided much needed help for those in need throughout the crisis.
Image: REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

A member of a neighbourhood association, set up to support people during the coronavirus outbreak, delivers shopping to a lady in Nice, France. Community support schemes have been springing up in many locations, providing vital help to those in need.