It seems like yesterday, when news channels and social media flooded the world with images of us struggling against an unseen enemy, one that had claimed more than 2 million lives worldwide in four short years. The coronavirus that broke out of China in December 2019 was declared by WHO to be a global pandemic by March 11, 2020. It humbled humanity like no other recent scourge. Lockdowns kicked in everywhere; cities were silenced, their proud streets emptied of all but “essential workers.” Now that the virus has become endemic, life has mostly returned to normal, though endemic means the virus will always be part of life on Earth, much like the flu virus is. But we are a people with short memories, and human nature is such that complacency will get the better of us – until the next pandemic comes. What better way to remember those dark days of 2020 than through poignant pictures of what it was like back then, when the world cowed under a foreboding sense of hopelessness that hung like a thick fog in the air?
The famous Shibuya crossing in Toyko errily deserted during COVID-19.New York City officials asked all residents except for essential workers to stay home starting on March 22, leaving iconic landmarks like Times Square almost empty. In normal times, approximately 380,000 pedestrians passed through Times Square every day.The Lincoln Memorial stands empty after DC mayor Muriel Bowser announced the closure of all non-essential businesses, banned gatherings of more than 10 people and stopped all tour services across the city.A DC resident crossing 16th Street, carrying a scarce and coveted item during COVID-19 with The White House in the distance.Paris’s most famous landmark, the Eiffel Tower was closed after the virus outbreak, along with other iconic attractions like the Louvre and Versailles Palace.A woman wears a protective mask while crossing an empty street on March 9 in Beijing, where virus-related measures include the closure of tourist attractions, social distancing in restaurants, and stores operating on reduced hours. China was the first country to go into lockdown.An orthodox Jew praying at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem during the COVID-19 outbreak where social distance was observed throughout the city.London has never been stilled like this before.Come back another day – empty beaches in Los Angeles due to closures of country beaches and other attractions after the virus outbreak.A mother carries her child to a hospital during COVID-19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Photo Credits:
All but two of the above images are from the book, Silent Cities: Portraits of a Pandemic: 15 Cities Across the World’ by Jeffrey Loria and Julie Loria, Skyhorse, November 2021.
