Against this backdrop, the report first looks at some of the most widespread steps to contain the virus – such as limits to freedom of movement, closure of schools and universities and disruption to work – and the impact they may have on fundamental rights. It then describes the impact of the pandemic and measures to tackle it on certain population groups and sets out examples of discriminatory and racist incidents targeting particular national or ethnic communities linked to COVID-19. Finally, it considers how Member States are looking to tackle disinformation regarding the virus and how to contain it, and explores guidance on upholding data protection standards during the pandemic. Examples of positive initiatives to mitigate the impact of public health measures on fundamental rights are included throughout. The selected examples of practices in EU Member States presented in the report do not comprehensively cover the huge number of actions taken across the EU. The report also contains some examples of how responses to COVID-19, in selected Member States, affect asylum seekers and refugees in reception centres within the EU. However, the broader situation concerning COVID-19 among migrants and refugees at the EU’s external borders is beyond the scope of this report. More information on this issue is available in FRA’s regular reporting on migration and in the note by FRA and the Council of Europe stating the main fundamental rights safeguards applicable at Member States’ borders published in late March 2020. BULLETIN #1: COVERAGE AND TIMELINE Bulletin #1 on COVID-19 documents the situation in 27 EU Member States between 1 February and 20 March 2020. It looks at selected areas of life and groups affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. It focuses on the first wave of government measures, including negative and positive examples, to contain the COVID-19 outbreak and mitigate its impact on people’s health, the economy and society – underlining the fundamental rights implications. Given the speed with which the pandemic and policy responses have unfolded, the report does not present an in-depth sociolegal analysis of measures and their impact, nor does it offer recommendations for future policies. It is beyond the scope of this current report to present an analysis of relevant international human rights law as it applies to the EU and its Member States. This could warrant a separate – future – FRA study. 14 The report addresses several areas of life affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, which – while all reflected in various articles of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – are not all covered by secondary EU law. For example, it encompasses core areas affected by measures enacted in response to COVID-19 – such as health and education. These are, in the main, questions of national competence. But in combination, they might have implications in EU law relevant fields such as nondiscrimination and others. FRA’s multidisciplinary research network, Franet, collected the data across all 27 EU Member States. It gathered information from sources in the public domain at the time of data collection. FRA’s next report, Bulletin #2 on COVID-19, will cover measures adopted after 20 March 2020. POLLS SUGGEST STRONG PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR RESTRICTIVE MEASURES The results of national and international public opinion polls on perceptions and impact of COVID-19 conducted in March 2020 show strong public support for the restrictions introduced in EU Member States. When asked what they think about the restrictive measures their governments had put in place, respondents in Italy, Spain and France were overwhelmingly supportive (90 %, 88 %, and 86 %, respectively), according to a Redfield & Wilton Strategies online survey of 1,500 individuals aged 18 and above in each country on 22 March 2020. More than half of respondents (53 %) polled in a YouGov omnibus survey in Germany on 16 March said that the country should impose a general curfew to limit the spread of the virus as best as possible. The online survey asked 2,063 persons aged 18 and above. There is also some evidence that the public is willing to accept restrictions on their fundamental rights. In Austria, 94 % of respondents indicated that they are willing to sacrifice some of their civil liberties if it helps to prevent the spread of the disease; this proportion increased by 16 percentage points in one week, according to the online Austrian Gallup Institute Barometer conducted between 16 and 18 March. The survey included persons aged 16 and above.