Incredible aerial shots show major cities and holy sites emptied by coronavirus

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Bronwen Weatherby6 March 2020

Eerie aerial images of the world's busiest destinations have revealed the impact of coronavirus across the planet.

The before and after pictures, released by space technology company Maxar, show usually packed spaces from Mecca to Tiananmen Square now deserted.

Desolate public squares, barren motorways and vacant holy sites can be seen from above, a stark reminder of the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Coronavirus has so far killed 3,387 people, having surpassed the 774 killed by the 2002 SARS outbreak within weeks.

The Colorado-based firm released one photograph showing a small number of pilgrims circling the Kaaba at Mecca's Grand Mosque.

The black building at the centre of the mosque is visited by millions every year, with worshippers travelling from every corner of the world.

Photograph taken on March 5, 2020 shows the white-tiled area surrounding the Kaaba, inside Mecca's Grand Mosque, empty of worshippers
AFP via Getty Images

The holy site, located in the Saudi Arabian desert, was officially closed on Thursday in a historic moment after the country's leaders suspended the year-round "umrah" pilgrimage in a bid to stop the spread of the virus.

Officials have begun an emergency deep-clean of the area.

One of Iran's most sacred places was also snapped almost empty. The streets and square around the Harat Masumeh Shrine in Qom appear vacant from above.

In Wuhan, China, the city at the centre of the outbreak, highways normally packed with traffic are bare.

Tiananmen Square in Beijing, which is usually bustling with people, is shown unoccupied with only a few cars passing nearby.

Tokyo's Disneyland has closed its doors amid the outbreak and the iconic Space Mountain ride previously surrounded with thrillseekers now looks abandoned.

The UK has now had 116 cases, 97 of those remain ill, while a woman in her 70s became the first person in the UK to die after catching the deadly illness.

A child in Liverpool has tested positive for coronavirus, according to Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Europe's coronavirus epicentre is currently Italy, which has now reported almost 4,000 cases.

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