High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world

High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world

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Lockdowns to halt the spread of the coronavirus have brought an uncanny silence to some of the world's busiest places. Transport hubs that should be teeming with travellers such as New York's Grand Central station or Istanbul's Eminonu ferry docks are all but deserted.

. New York, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Andrew Kelly
The main concourse of the Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, New York City, U.S.

Our best loved tourist sites or promenades, the Malecon seafront in the Cuban capital Havana, the Damascus Gate entrance to Jerusalem and the Old Town Square in the Czech capital Prague are empty of visitors and the traders that live from them, as borders close and tourists stay home.

Cairo's Tahrir Square and Kiev's Maidan, squares where just a few years ago people swarmed in their masses to bring about revolution, are clear.

Reuters photographers have captured the hush that has descended on some of the world's best-known sites on the same day, at noon.

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Slideshow

The Roman amphitheater in Amman, Jordan.
. Amman, Jordan. Reuters/Muhammad Hamed

The Roman amphitheater in Amman, Jordan.

Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt.
. Cairo, Egypt. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt.

Bolivar avenue in Caracas, Venezuela.
. Caracas, VENEZUELA. Reuters/Manaure Quintero

Bolivar avenue in Caracas, Venezuela.

The United States Capitol in Washington, U.S.
. Washington, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

The United States Capitol in Washington, U.S.

The seafront Malecon in Havana, Cuba.
. Havana, CUBA. Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini

The seafront Malecon in Havana, Cuba.

Eminonu district in Istanbul, Turkey.
. Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters/Umit Bektas

Eminonu district in Istanbul, Turkey.

National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil.
. Brasilia, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil.

Cape Town's city hall in South Africa.
. Cape Town, South Africa. Reuters/Mike Hutchings

Cape Town's city hall in South Africa.

Ring Road Central Street in Accra, Ghana.
. Accra, Ghana. Reuters/Francis Kokoroko

Ring Road Central Street in Accra, Ghana.

Martyrs' Square in Beirut, Lebanon.
. Beirut, Lebanon. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir

Martyrs' Square in Beirut, Lebanon.

A market near the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, Iraq.
. Najaf, Iraq. Reuters/Alaa al-Marjani

A market near the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, Iraq.

Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic.
. Prague, Czech Republic. Reuters/David W Cerny

Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic.

Stock im Eisen square in Vienna, Austria.
. Vienna, Austria. Reuters/Leonhard Foeger

Stock im Eisen square in Vienna, Austria.

Spasskaya tower, Moscow’s Kremlin, and St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia.
. Moscow, RUSSIA. Reuters/Maxim Shemetov

Spasskaya tower, Moscow’s Kremlin, and St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia.

Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kiev, Ukraine.
. Kiev, UKRAINE. Reuters/Gleb Garanich

Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kiev, Ukraine.

Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City.
. Jerusalem. Reuters/Ammar Awad

Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City.

The State Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
. Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA. Reuters/Anton Vaganov

The State Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, also known as The Grand Palace) in Bangkok, Thailand.
. Bangkok, Thailand. Reuters/Jorge Silva

Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, also known as The Grand Palace) in Bangkok, Thailand.

A beach on the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories.
. Gaza, Palestinian Territories. Reuters/Mohammed Salem

A beach on the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories.

A square in Minsk, Belarus.
. Minsk, BELARUS. Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko

A square in Minsk, Belarus.

Merlion Park in Singapore.
. Singapore, SINGAPORE. Reuters/Edgar Su

Merlion Park in Singapore.

A road in Wuhan, Hubei province, China.
. Wuhan, CHINA. Reuters/Aly Song

A road in Wuhan, Hubei province, China.

A road at Rajpath in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

A road at Rajpath in New Delhi, India.

An intersection on Jalan M.H. Thamrin in Jakarta, Indonesia.
. Jakarta, Indonesia. Reuters/Willy Kurniawan

An intersection on Jalan M.H. Thamrin in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai, India.
. Mumbai, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai, India.

Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan.
. Tokyö, Japan. Reuters/Issei Kato

Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan.

Houses of Parliament on Westminster Bridge in London, Britain.
. London, UNITED KINGDOM. Reuters/Toby Melville

Houses of Parliament on Westminster Bridge in London, Britain.

Brandenburg gate in Berlin, Germany.
. Berlin, Germany. Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke

Brandenburg gate in Berlin, Germany.