With Covid-19 surpassing half a million cases globally, the pandemic has left no community untouched. We reached out to artists in six countries asking them for a snapshot into how coronavirus has transformed their daily lives.

St. Petersburg, Russia | Natalia Yamshchikova

“We have too many catastrophes here. I’m still recovering from the fact that we’ll have Putin forever now,” said Yamshchikova. When coronavirus numbers were just breaking 100 cases in the country, President Vladimir Putin ordered a reset for presidential terms limits, allowing him to in effect stay president for life. A spike in coronavirus cases and the plummet of the ruble followed, leaving Russians with news whiplash as one crisis overtook another.

Milan, Italy | Marta Signori

With virtually all of the country on lockdown, ordinary tasks have turned into a “scary adventure” for close to 60 million Italians, said Signori.

Khon Kaen, Thailand | Peerapat Chatjutamanee

The stockpiling and reselling of masks for a higher price is leaving people without a defense against another major health risk in Thailand: urban air pollution, says Chatjutamanee. The country currently has 1,651 confirmed cases.