Images of wild animals taking over the spaces abandoned by humans are multiplying. From boars on the streets of Barcelona, to deer in Nara metro stations in Japan; from the groups of wild turkeys that roam the streets of Oakland, California, to a cougar spotted in the center of the Chilean capital Santiago. 

The latest published scientific study shows that the virus can survive on cardboard for up to 24 hours (and even longer on other surfaces, including stainless steel and plastic). But according to Professor Bill Keevil, an environmental health expert, this is a very low risk. Meanwhile, the Food Standards Agency website says it is very unlikely that someone would contract coronavirus from take-away food. 

Due to the closures that are also affecting the United Kingdom, dozens of food & beverage chains risk collapse. Kate Nicholls, a representative of the UK trade body, says the banks need to provide immediate financing and short-term loans to cover current costs and losses. 

Several ex-cons are at work in the kitchens of City Beet Kitchen, cooking over 2,000 meals a day for the city's homeless. Many of the former prisoners learned to cook in prison and are now helping the people most severely affected by the current crisis. 

The current epidemic could disproportionately devastate the economies of already depleted countries, warns the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). According to the United Nations, the loss of income in these countries could exceed 220 billion dollars. The UN also warns that almost half of all jobs in Africa could be lost. 

If the ban on the consumption of wild animals were extended by other countries beyond China, it could mean that entire communities would not have a safe source of protein at their disposal. Cgiar researchers explain that the objective should instead be to ban the sale of live animals, close their markets, stop the trafficking of wild animals and stem the trade of wild animals from forests to cities.