Before and after the coronavirus: Scenes from normally busy places

Bars, restaurants, cinemas and schools were shutting down from Singapore and Cairo to Madrid and Dubai in a worldwide effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Above: Visitors arriving at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in West Bank earlier this month and the same place today.

A combination picture shows people walking near the castle in the old city of Erbil, Iraq last week and the same place today.

The Woodlands Causeway between Singapore and Malaysia, before (L) and after Malaysia imposed a lockdown on travel.

Tourists climbing the stairs outside El Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain in 2019 and the same place today.

Students walking past a building at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt last month and the same place today.

Tourists standing in front of the 'Puente Nuevo' (New Bridge) in downtown Ronda, Spain last week and the same place today.

People gathering near the castle in the old city of Erbil, Iraq last week and the same place today.

School children leaving the primary school of Omar El Mokhtar in Cairo, Egypt last week and the same place now.

Tourists walking across the medieval Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic last month and the bridge seen empty as the Czech government restricts movement of people today.

People shopping at the Nabi Younes market in Mosul, Iraq last week and the empty market today.

A class in school before and after closing the schools due to coronavirus in Preska, Slovenia.

Iraqi youth playing pool in a cafe in the holy city of Kerbala, Iraq last week and the same place today.

Students attending a lecture at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt, last month and the same place today.

Tourists visiting the pillars of the Roman Temple of Hercules at the Amman Citadel, in Amman, Jordan last week and the same place today.

School children lining up for class at Thamret Al Tawfiq School in Cairo, Egypt last month and the school seen empty today.

Worshippers attending a prayer at the Imam Ali shrine in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf, Iraq in August 2019, and the same place last week.

Men gathered at a beach in Beirut last week and the same place today.

Students walking past information and instructions on coronavirus disease at Cairo University, in Cairo,, last month and the same place today.

Worshippers attending a prayer at the Imam Ali shrine in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf, Iraq in August 2019, and the same place last week..

People at Dubai Mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates last week and the same place today.