All schools in (our part of? think all parts?) of Canada shut with only a few hours notice. All day care centres and nurseries also shut - the provincial government announced this at 8.30 am one morning and parents had to return and collect their kids. We had a one week school break (March Break) last week so some families had planned to be off anyway and it has given them time to plan. All the March Break day camps were cancelled and the libraries and rec. centres (pools, skating rinks etc.) are closed though.
Our key workers are showing up and doing their shifts. As many as possible non-essential workers are working from home while essential workers (grocery store workers, postal system, public transit workers) are turning up at work and getting on with it. The usually packed streets of Toronto are empty, our subway system is empty, our entertainment industry is shut, most retail is shut.
How is it getting done? Communities have pulled together - neighbours (many who can't do their normal non-essential jobs e.g. teachers, restaurant and clothing store workers etc.) and high schoolers are stepping up to mind children that need minding. The biggest complaints are that people are taking the kids to the park and letting them play on the swings and slides and potentially lick them which is a public health hazard. employers understand that working from home does not mean 100% efficiency, and that 8-5 with 30 mins for lunch may not be a viable plan for everyone - As long as it gets done asap everyone is rolling with it. People are meeting using Zoom on-line meeting software as and when they can, and everyone understands that peoples pets, small children, dining rooms with dirty dishes etc. are part of the deal.
Seriously UK - it's a crisis. Communities need to lean in, cut each other some slack and help each other. We are all in it together - our health system has limited capacity to cope with the extra load associated with CoVID-19 and EVERYONE is aware that this is life and death as we were affected badly by SARS and many nurses died in that outbreak. The politicians are working together despite have a Liberal federal government and a Conservative provincial government. The Unions are working with the government, even the ones which are currently on strike in Ontario. There is a clear consistent message everywhere that we HAVE to contain the virus, and (for the most part, maybe with the exception of some 24-30 yr olds) we are going to get this done, together. The curve is going to be flattened in the GTA, we will get past this together and then we will stand normal life and the economy back up.
Stay safe everyone