Before and after: Stunning photos from around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic

Beijing’s Jingshan Park overlooks the Forbidden City on Feb. 17, 2018.

Messages are left prior to the Lunar New Year on Jan. 25, 2020, two days after the location emptied out as a result of the Wuhan lockdown.

Activity in San Marco Square during Carnival festivities on Feb. 16, 2020.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a national emergency on March 9, by which time the same square is empty.

Popular shopping and tourist destination Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is pictured here on May 3, 2016.

The Galleria is deserted on March 10 after national restrictions to control the deadly coronavirus.

The famed tourist attraction is pictured on May 4, 2019.

The same steps, now deserted on March 12.

Los Angeles’ 110 Freeway on Feb. 2, 2019.

Los Angeles is shut down on March 15; the empty 110 is pictured here.

Chicago’s "Cloud Gate" in Millennium Park is seen here on March 13, the same day COVID-19 was declared a national emergency.

Cloud Gate on March 21, when a stay-at-home order went into effect.

Barcelona’s famous basilica La Sagrada Familia in October 2015.

The Spanish government declared a 15-day state of emergency on March 17, as cases surpassed 10,000.

Rio de Janeiro's iconic Ipanema Beach in November 2015.

Ipanema Beach after the lockdown on March 21, 2020, as Brazil’s cases approached 1,000.

The Main Concourse of Grand Central Terminal in New York City in September 2017.

The same concourse is nearly empty on March 22, 2020.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu is one of the largest in the world—pictured here on April 4, 2015.

Boudhanath on March 26, 2020, the third day of a nationwide lockdown.

The busy Sadarghat Port in Bangladesh’s capital city on April 13, 2019.

The Sadarghat launch terminal is quiet by the third day of the shutdown on March 27.

Shibuya crossing in Tokyo on March 5, 2017.

The crossing on March 28, 2020, amidst stay-at-home weekend orders.

The annual Toy Fair at the Javits Center on Feb. 24, 2020, missing the China Pavilion as output in the world’s largest toymaker country slowed markedly.

On March 30, the Army Corps of Engineers established a temporary 1,000-bed field hospital in the Javits Center.

Bubbles in the air at the Brandenburg Gate on April 8, 2019.

The iconic Brandenburg Gate on March 31, 2020.

The Revolution Monument in Mexico City on April 6, 2017.

The monument on April 1, 2020, after nonessential activities were halted.

Pedestrians in London’s Piccadilly Circus in October 2017.

Piccadilly Circus on April 9, 2020, as Britain’s cases eclipsed 60,000.

Pictured on April 19, 2019, Semana Santa or ”Holy Week” brings over 1 million people to Seville the week before Easter.

A woman walks with her dog in front of Basilica de la Macarena on April 9, 2020.

The Chicago Blackhawks score in Game 2 of the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 3.

On April 17, 2020, the United Center floor holds nonperishable food for those in need.

Smog engulfs New Delhi’s India Gate monument on Nov. 2, 2019, in New Delhi.

By April 20, 2020, air pollution minimized and blue skies emerged.

Traffic during rush hour near the European council buildings on March 2, 2020.

On April 22, Rue de la Loi is empty as cases surpassed 40,000 in Belgium.

Muslim worshippers gather around Islam's holiest shrine, the Kaaba, at the Great Mosque of Mecca during Ramadan on May 31, 2019.

The Great Mosque is deserted at the beginning of Ramadan on April 24, 2020.

The Esplanade du Trocadero by the Eiffel Tower on May 9, 2017.

A woman in a face mask on May 11, 2020, when France began easing coronavirus precautions.

The City Hall complex in San Francisco on May 15, 2013.

On May 18, 2020, San Francisco opened its first temporary sanctioned tent encampment with a safe sleeping area and marked spots for social distancing.

Tourists at the Mykonos windmills on May 3, 2019.

On May 25, 2020, Mykonos’ Little Venice neighborhood in Mykonos is sanitized as the country plans to ease travel restrictions.

Istanbul's famous bustling Grand Bazaar—pictured here on May 30, 2018— is the world’s largest covered market.

The Grand Bazaar, closed on March 23, 2020, is pictured here on May 30, 2020, as it prepares to reopen June 1.