Coronavirus picture editor's selection #2

It is widely acknowledged that pets have a positive impact on owners' mental health – research by charity PDSA suggests that 84 percent of pet owners agree. Creatures of all shapes and sizes have helped combat loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic © Shchus/Shutterstock

Countries around the globe have found creative ways of thanking their medical staff on the front line combatting Covid-19, from a mural on a hospital in Italy to new blue postboxes in the UK © Serhii Milekhin/Shutterstock

It's not just professional graffiti artists who are offering up messages of solidarity and gratitude: ordinary citizens have contributed with own street chalk artwork, too © Jon Beyerle/Shutterstock

You're never too young to help get the message out © Ivanna Lukiian/Shutterstock

A bin man in a respiratory mask collects rubbish in Cusco, Peru. The South American country has been hard hit by the virus, with more than 50,000 confirmed cases. Its death count is second only to Brazil in Latin America, a country with a population near seven times that of Peru © Lidiya Ribakova/Shutterstock

Distance learning-online education. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this week that some schools in the country could open as early as 1 June © Melinda Nagy/Shutterstock

Re-opening business sign on the side of the road in Creve Coeur, MO, USA. Several states around the country have started to lift restrictions, while others are still under full lockdown © Leonard Jerry Horsford/Shutterstock

Researcher working in the biochemical lab unit. Scientists around the globe are investing in research into the disease, as well as working towards finding a vaccine © Komsan Loonprom/Shutterstock

Cloth masks and sanitary masks hang on an outdoor clothes rack after use. People around the world have got creative, making home-made masks from old cotton T-shirts and other fabric to supplement medical supplies © Suphat Pengchan/Shutterstock

Enjoying a meal post-coronavirus: eating food with a plastic partition to protect against spreading infection © Nattakorn_Maneerat/Shutterstock