Poignant moments of daily life captured in the hours and days before fear, face masks, and social distancing became the norm.
Calm Before The Storm: Photos Capture Life On Eve Of Coronavirus Crisis
- By Amos Chapple
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China, January 1: Performers line up for a selfie during New Year celebrations in Beijing. Later that day a seafood market in Wuhan -- some 1,100 kilometers south of Beijing -- was shut down after several customers were reported to be suffering from a mysterious disease. Since then the strain of coronavirus known as COVID-19 has killed 3,270 people in China.
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Russia, January 19: Orthodox Christians celebrate Epiphany with an icy swim in Omsk. The following day, two Chinese inside Russia tested positive for COVID-19. There are officially no deaths in Russia attributed to the coronavirus as of March 23.
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United States, January 20: A man dressed as a bald eagle at a gun-rights rally in Richmond, Virginia. The same day, a 35-year old man who had recently returned to the United States from Wuhan tested positive for COVID-19. The virus has since killed 504 people in America as of March 23.
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Italy, January 28: Young “Polar Bears” dive into the icy water of the Po River in Turin. Three days after this photo was taken, two Chinese tourists in Rome tested positive for the coronavirus. The disease has killed 6,077 people in Italy as of March 23 -- the largest death toll of any country during the pandemic.
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Iran, February 14: A woman poses with a heart-shaped balloon on Valentine's Day in Tehran. Iran confirmed its first two deaths from the coronavirus on February 19 after denying an earlier report that a woman had died from COVID-19 on February 12. The pandemic has killed 1,812 Iranians as of March 23.
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Pakistan, February 22: A man in Peshawar hands out sweets to celebrate the "reduction in violence" deal agreed to between the Taliban and U.S. forces. Four days later, Pakistan reported its first COVID-19 case. Six people in Pakistan have died from the virus as of March 23.
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Belarus, February 28: People dance during Maslenitsa celebrations in a village near Minsk. The same day this photo was taken an Iranian man studying in Belarus tested positive for COVID-19. Belarus has no reported fatalities from the virus as of March 23.
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Serbia, March 1: A boy leaps over a fire during a traditional carnival in the village of Lozovik, near Belgrade. Five days after this photo was taken, Serbia reported its first case of COVID-19 in a man who had recently returned from Budapest. Two have died from the virus in Serbia as of March 23.
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Albania, March 2: A massive political protest fills the streets of Tirana. On March 8, Albania reported its first two cases of COVID-19 when a father and son tested positive for the virus after the son returned from Italy. Four people have been killed by the coronavirus in Albania as of March 23.
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Romania, March 1: Fans watch a team handball match in Bucharest. This photo was taken several days after the country’s first case of COVID-19 was confirmed on February 26 when a Romanian man returned from a hunting trip with an Italian associate. There have been five fatalities from the virus in Romania as of March 23.
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Ukraine, March 4: A military parade organized for a 97-year-old World War II veteran (seated) in the separatist-controlled town of Dokuchaevsk, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Ukraine reported its first case of COVID-19 in a man who had recently been in Italy and Romania. The country has reported three fatalities from the virus as of March 23.
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Kyrgyzstan, March 15: People line up for groceries in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan’s fourth-largest city, as news of the coronavirus pandemic was gripping the world. Three days after this photo was taken, Kyrgyzstan reported its first case of COVID-19. There are no reported deaths from the virus in the Central Asian country as of March 23.
