A bird's-eye view of the coronavirus pandemic

The pandemic has changed life on the ground as we know it.

ByElla Torres
March 25, 2020, 5:25 PM

As countries implement nationwide lockdowns to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic, life on the ground looks drastically different.

In India, the world's second most populated nation, streets were empty of pedestrians and cars on Wednesday, the first day of a 21-day lockdown imposed and enforced by the government. A normally packed freeway in downtown Los Angeles was practically free of traffic under the state's stay-at-home order.

The few areas where people are congregated are mainly confined to hospitals, large spaces that will be turned into makeshift hospitals, and grocery stores.

With life around the globe continuing to change under coronavirus, here are images from above.

Bangkok, Thailand

Staff of food delivery companies sit in chairs to maintain social distancing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, as they wait for their customers orders at a department store in Bangkok, Thailand, March 24, 2020.
Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters

Belgrade, Serbia

Serbian military sets up the beds inside Hall 1 of the Belgrade Fair to accommodate people who suffer mild symptoms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Belgrade, Serbia, March 24, 2020.
Marko Djurica/Reuters

Belvidere, Illinois

PHOTO: The employee parking lots are nearly empty at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Belvidere Assembly Plant, March 24, 2020 in Belvidere, Illinois.
The employee parking lots are nearly empty at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Belvidere Assembly Plant, March 24, 2020 in Belvidere, Illinois. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, FCA announced last week that it would cease production at it's North America plants. The company hopes to resume operation next week after implementing changes agreed with the UAW including shift timings, structures and enhanced cleaning protocols.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Berlin, Germany

The traffic circle at the Victory Column , which at rush hour is usually crowded with cars, stands nearly empty during the coronavirus crisis on March 23, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Bogota, Colombia

PHOTO: Nearly empty roads in Bogota, Colombia, March 20, 2020.
Nearly empty roads in Bogota, Colombia, March 20, 2020, after authorities announced a mandatory isolation simulation for the extended weekend, from March 21 to 23, as a preventive measure against the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19.
Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images

Buenos Aires, Argentina

PHOTO: Few vehicles on La Plata highway in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 24, 2020 during the outbreak of the new coronavirus, COVID-19.
Few vehicles on La Plata highway in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 24, 2020 during the outbreak of the new coronavirus, COVID-19. Argentina's population has been placed under "preventive and compulsory" lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

Chicago, Illinois

A view of an unusually quiet State Street under the effect of a state-wide stay at home order issued in Chicago, Illinois, March 23, 2020.
Tannen Maury/EPA via Shutterstock

Dubrovnik, Croatia

PHOTO: Empty streets in the old town of Dubrovnik, Croatia, March 17, 2020, normally an art and clubbing hub and a tourist attraction.
Empty streets in the old town of Dubrovnik, Croatia, March 17, 2020, normally an art and clubbing hub and a tourist attraction, but with the coronavirus outbreak, now more reflective of it's original purpose centuries ago as an isolation zone for arrivals who might be carrying infectious diseases. Dubrovnik, on the Adriatic coast, was the first city in Europe to set up a quarantine system, in 1377, as protection from leprosy.
Darko Bandic/AP

Johannesburg, South Africa

PHOTO: Customers stand in a queue outside a supermarket in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, March 24, 2020.
Customers stand in a queue outside a supermarket in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, March 24, 2020. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a 21-day national lockdown to start later this week to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus and ordered the military to enforce the ban.
Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images

Los Angeles, California

The 110 freeway leading into downtown Los Angeles is emptier than usual after California issued a stay-at-home order due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Los Angeles, Calif. March 23, 2020.
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Manhattan, New York

A quiet Amsterdam Avenue with only a few pedestrians or vehicles, on the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, March 23, 2020, while the fallout from coronavirus alters everyday life in Manhattan and elsewhere.
Craig Ruttle/Redux

Miami, Florida

PHOTO: Chairs line a deserted beach resort in Windley Key, some 70 miles south of Miami, on March 22, 2020, during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Chairs line a deserted beach resort in Windley Key, some 70 miles south of Miami, on March 22, 2020, during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Heavily relying on tourism, at the peak of high season, Florida's most southern holiday islands have been forced to shut down hotels amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

New Delhi, India

A kite flies over deserted roundabout during the first day of a 21-day government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, March 25. 2020, in New Delhi.
Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A pedestrian walks through a nearly empty shopping area in the center of the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during a lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of the (COVID-19) coronavirus pandemic, March 24, 2020.
Buda Mendes/Getty Images
PHOTO: The beach of Leme, empty due to restrictive measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 24, 2020.
The beach of Leme, empty due to restrictive measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 24, 2020. All shops in Rio De Janeiro are closed except for supermarkets and pharmacies, in an attempt by the authorities to further restrict measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Antonio Lacerda/EPA via Shutterstock

Riverside, California

PHOTO: The empty UCR Student Recreation Center at the University of California Riverside, March 20, 2020, in Riverside, Calif.
The empty UCR Student Recreation Center at the University of California Riverside, March 20, 2020, in Riverside, Calif. The university is transitioning to all online courses through the end of spring session to help the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Image of Sport via Newscom

San Francisco, California

PHOTO: An empty schoolyard at Ulloa Elementary School, March 18, 2020 in San Francisco, Calif.
An empty schoolyard at Ulloa Elementary School, March 18, 2020 in San Francisco, Calif. As millions of Americans shelter in place in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus, schools across the country are being closed and it is unclear if they will be able to reopen before the start of summer break.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Santa Monica, California

The Santa Monica Pier, March 21, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif., while temporarily closed to the public as part of the city's local emergency proclamation in the wake of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
Dylan Stewart/Image of Sport via Newscom

Tulsa, Oklahoma

American Airlines passenger planes sit on a runway at Tulsa International Airport where they are parked due to flight reductions because of the coronavirus pandemic, March 23, 2020, in Tulsa, Okla.
Nick Oxford/Reuters

Related Topics

ABC News Live

ABC News Live

24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events