Belarus is one of the few countries left in Europe where not much has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic took over the world.

The eastern European country, ruled by President Alexander Lukashenko, has strayed from most of the rest of the continent, and the world, by not imposing stringent lockdown measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. 

Lukashenko, who has run the country for almost 26 years, has described lockdowns imposed in other nations as driven by "psychosis". He has insisted that a healthy lifestyle - including playing sport and drinking vodka - are better ways to fight the virus than imposing social distancing.

While countries around the world - in accordance with World Health Organization advice - have implemented travel restrictions, closed borders, public places and schools, and cancelled sporting events – Belarus's borders remain open and Lukashenko has refused to implement a lockdown, with pubs and schools open.

Over the weekend, Lukashenko even played an ice hockey match and embraced fellow players, saying: "It's better to die standing than to live on your knees."

A football match open to the public also went ahead in the country last week.

However, many in Belarus don't share Lukashenko's dismissal of the severity of the virus and are taking it into their own hands to implement protective measures. 

One such institution is the Stembridge private school in Minsk, which switched to distance learning last week, after most parents supported the idea.

"We monitored the international situation and the overall picture looked like it would be more responsible to organize distance learning," said teacher Evgeniya Gushchina.

"If you have to choose between the risk to health and the risk of under-education, I choose health," she added.

But other educational institutions are still open, and parents taking their children to kindergarten say they have no choice, as they must continue to go into work and don't have arrangements for childcare.

Other Belarusians are imposing their own quarantines and limiting social interactions. Some cinemas, cafes and restaurants have also been closed by owners voluntarily. 

Many citizens seem to be limiting their travel on public transport, as passenger numbers on the Minsk metro have fallen by a quarter.

"Today in Belarus, there is a paradoxical situation, where society does many times more than the authorities do," Andrey Dmitriev, head of Tell the Truth, a group that calls for more openness from the authorities, told Reuters.

"Society does not trust the state today. A total lack of information will mobilize people to take personal action," he said.

The country, which has a population of 9.5 million and borders Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine, currently has 163 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

The first death from the virus was officially reported by President Lukashenko on Tuesday 30 March.