18 Shocking Pictures Of Famous Places Before And After The Coronavirus Outbreak

1. The Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque of Mecca in August 2018:

Saudi Arabia partially reopened Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, on Saturday but left the ban on pilgrimages in place as part of the kingdom's measures to combat the coronavirus. 

Based on a royal decree by King Salman, the holy site reopened on Saturday morning for those seeking to perform the tawaf ritual, which involves walking around the sacred Kaaba, a black boxed structure in the mosque complex. However, visitors will not be permitted to touch the Kaaba. 

The decision "allows the opening of the area around Kaaba for non-Umrah visitors performing tawaf, effective at dawn on Saturday, in accordance with the drawn plan," a statement by the mosque director read. 

2. The Kaaba on March 6:

3. St. Peter's Square in Vatican City during the weekly Angelus prayer on Jan. 19:

4. Saint Peter's Square today:

5. Tokyo's Sensoji temple packed with visitors last April:

6. The temple, nearly empty, a few days ago:

7. St. Mark's Square in Venice overrun with tourists last June:

8. St. Mark's Square this morning:

9. The Square's namesake basilica in June:

10. And the basilica today:

11. Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong in August 2015:

12. The resort, temporarily closed due to the coronavirus, last week:

13. Tokyo Disneyland on Feb. 28:

14. And Tokyo Disneyland the very next day after closing down:

15. The Tokyo Dome packed with worshipers during Pope Francis's visit last November:

16. The Tokyo Dome late last month during a professional baseball game being played without spectators:

17. Tourists in Milan's Piazza del Duomo in October 2017:

18. Now, just pigeons: