Coronavirus Cities BEFORE and AFTER Outbreak

March 12, 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has created a pandemic across the world according to the World Health Organization. Many popular cities and attractions across the globe look deserted and we have the eerie photos to prove it. Photos credited to the Associated Press.

As the coronavirus continues to ravage through countries, people are becoming increasingly careful not to gather in large spaces. So far, the virus has infected nearly 125,000 people and killed 4,500. Governments around the world have issued increasingly restrictive policies, including putting cities on lockdown, banning large gatherings, and urging people to stay home.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization officially declared the virus a global pandemic. As concerns continue to rise throughout the world, public spaces such as sporting stadiums, plazas, airports, religious sites, and theaters have been left abandoned.

The Kaaba in Saudi Arabia plays a vital role in the Hajj, an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. It’s considered the holiest site in Islam and attracts millions of worshipers each year. But this photo from March 5th shows the site cleared for sanitation nearly empty amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Many Crowds of dedicated fans used gather at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain to watch football matches throughout the season. But the stadium closed its doors to all of the fans as of March 3rd after the government announced it wanted to avoid large gatherings during the coronavirus outbreak.

Nearly an entire city worth of people would gather in Milan’s central station, the biggest train station in the entire city. The entire station would see nearly 320,000 people pass through its doors on a daily basis to connect travelers all throughout Italy. As of March 9th, the Italian Prime Minster Guiseppe Conte had announced a nationwide shutdown. The lockdown of may of these public places ordered citizens to stay home, avoid public spaces as a whole, and only travel if granted specific permission.

In this photo, a boy and his father play with pigeons at the Piazza del Duomo, which is the biggest attraction in Milan. The site sees over five million visitors each year, but now the famous Piazza has remained eerily empty following this nationwide lockdown that restricts people from gathering in public spaces.

Before the outbreak, the Vittorio Veneto square, the largest square located in Turin, Italy, attracts bustling crowds of visitors and event gatherings daily. But now, the virus worsened Italy and very few people have gathered in the square at all.

The Spanish steps of Rome has seen very small footfall, Venice Gondola rides have became a near halt throughout the cobblestone streets, and the Shrine of Saint Imam Abdul Azim went from bustling pathways inside the building to being disinfected with little to no one around. Iran is now the third-most-infected in the world.

A lot of these places around the world have been affected. Many of the airline companies are reporting massive drops in sales. Even in Times Square, one of the most densely populated areas in NYC has seen a dismal time with few people traveling to the city center at all. This outbreak has caused many grocery stores in the US and across the world a shortage of cleaning supplies and everyday products like paper towels and toilet paper. The World Health Organization has declared this a global pandemic and recommends every person to thoroughly clean and disinfect where appropriate, stay away from public events, and overall work from home until further notice.