The Italian government has reacted with severity to the coronavirus outbreak which has so far killed over 1,000 residents of the nation, with lockdowns and curfews leaving streets empty and many businesses closed.
Remarkable photographs from the streets and squares of Europe, among them some of the most popular tourist destinations on the globe, show spaces empty of people.
Under the terms of the Italian government’s shutdown in an attempt to control the spread of coronavirus, residents now have to download, print, and fill out an official form to even leave their own homes to do simple tasks like going food shopping. Those who are caught outside by police without their paperwork complete can face criminal charges and punishments including a $230 fine, and even time in prison.
Mask-wearing police officers are manning checkpoints on roads and at public transport stations, checking reasons for travel. Accepted reasons including going to buy food, urgent visits to the hospital, and important professional business.
Most shops have been ordered to close down, with food stores, tobacconists, and pharmacies among those excepted from the law.
A general view shows the inside of a deserted Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping mall in center Milan on March 12, 2020. Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images
Outdoors tents set up for screening patients suspected of showing new coronavirus symptoms, the first step of a new intensive care unit, are pictured at the Cardarelli hospital in Naples on March 11, 2020, a day after Italy imposed unprecedented national restrictions on its 60 million people on March 10 to control the deadly COVID-19 coronavirus. CARLO HERMANN/AFP via Getty Images
MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 11: Pharmacists at work on March 11, 2020 in Milan, Italy. The Italian Government has strengthened up its quarantine rules, shutting all commercial activities except for pharmacies, food shops, gas stations, tobacco stores and news kiosks in a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Photo by Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images
MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 11: A man, pulling a trolley filled with bottles of water, crosses a deserted street on March 11, 2020 in Milan, Italy. Photo by Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images
A man pushes a pram as he walks along the Foro Traiano Roman ruins in Rome on March 12, 2020 in Rome. Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images
A deserted Corso Buenos Aires main street is pictured in Milan on March 12, 2020. Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images
A market worker wearing a protective mask walks past closed stalls in the non-food section of a market in Rome on March 12, 2020. Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images
Policemen wearing a protective mask has little traffic to control in Via Dei Cerchi on March 12, 2020 in Rome. Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images
A closed Apple Store is pictured in a deserted EUROMA2 shopping mall in the E.U.R. district of Rome on March 12, 2020. Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images
A general view shows a wing of a deserted EUROMA2 shopping mall in the E.U.R. district of Rome on March 12, 2020. Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images
A general view shows the deserted Spanish Steps in central Rome on March 12, 2020 in Rome. Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images
A general view shows a closed restaurant at a deserted Piazza Navona in central Rome on March 12, 2020. Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images
A general view shows a deserted Piazza del Duomo in center Milan on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus. Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images
First responders wait by an ambulance on Piazza Venezia in Rome on March 12, 2020. Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images