Eerily quiet: From Madrid to London, streets are empty amid coronavirus shutdown - in pictures

Swathes of the globe went silent as gatherings were banned as Covid-19 spreads

The Ritz hotel in London. EPA

A nearly empty Times Square is seen on March 23, 2020 in New York City. AFP

A nearly empty Times Square is seen on March 23, 2020 in New York City. AFP

Empty streets in Trafalgar Square as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in London. Reuters

View of the empty Sol square in Madrid, Spain as lockdown continues in the Spanish capital. EPA

The empty Neumarkt square in front of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) is seen during a partial lockdown in Dresden, Germany. Reuters

Aerial view of the empty 9 de Julio avenue in Buenos Aires after the Argentine government ordered a "preventive and mandatory" isolation, effective until the end of the month. AFP

A view of an empty square in downtown Wroclaw, western Poland. EPA

The empty street facing the Ponte Vecchio in Florence during a strict lockdown put in place by Italian government to fight against the spread of the COVID-19. AFP

A man walks along the empty Champs-Elysees in Paris. AFP

The empty Loge street in the city of Montpellier, southern France, on the seventh day of a lockdown. AFP

A street stands empty in the Chinatown area of Melbourne, Australia. The Australian government said it will enforce more stringent controls to slow the virus spread, closing pubs, casinos, restaurants and other venues after the number of infections surged. Bloomberg

A man stands outside the Bondi Pavilion at a near-empty Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Bloomberg

The empty "Place de la Comedie " in the city of Montpellier, southern France. AFP

An empty street leading to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. AFP

A florist stall at an empty London Bridge in London, Britain. EPA

Pigeons gather outside the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador during the 40th anniversay of San Oscar Arnulfo Romero (1917-1980) assassination. AFP

Empty streets and alleyways are seen around Chinatown at what would usually be a busy period of Friday night revelry in London, England. Getty Images

An empty street is seen in the usually crowded Main Town in Gdansk, during the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Poland. Reuters

Once-bustling boulevards sat silent as countries around the world went into lockdown in an attempt to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

While some governments made urgent pleas for residents to stay at home, others enforced curfews to keep people off the streets.

In total, more than 1.5 billion people – or one-fifth of the world’s population – was told not to go out.

New York’s Times Square was illuminated with barely anyone there to take in the dazzling lights as the “city that never sleeps” ground to a halt.

The cafes and restaurants in Madrid’s squares were shut, while other squares around Europe that usually throng with tourists taking selfies were populated only by flocks of pigeons.

In Saudi Arabia, a three-week curfew will compel residents to stay indoors from 7pm to 6am, while in the UAE the normally popular beaches are deserted and the shopping malls are set to close.