In Pictures

In Pictures: World races to contain coronavirus

On the front lines as authorities around the globe scramble to prevent the spread of the contagion.

Paramedics wearing personal protective equipment carry a patient in a stretcher on to an ambulance as they evacuate residents from a public housing building following the outbreak of the novel coronav — Paramedics carry a patient to an ambulance as they evacuate residents from a public housing building following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Hong Kong. [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]

The World Health Organization described the coronavirus pandemic as the “defining global health crisis of our time” and urged countries to test all suspected cases of COVID-19.

Globally, more than 168,000 have been infected and about 6,600 have died. Almost 80,000 people have recovered from the infection, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

Many countries imposed bans on mass gatherings, shuttered sports matches, and cancelled cultural and religious events, while medical experts urged people to practise “social distancing” to curb the spread.

A delivery man cycles next to an empty square between La Almudena Cathedral and the Royal Palace during partial lockdown as part of a 15-day state of emergency to combat the coronavirus disease outbre — A delivery man cycles next to an empty square between La Almudena Cathedral and the Royal Palace as part of a 15-day state of emergency to combat coronavirus in Madrid, Spain. [Juan Medina/Reuters]

Junior high students wearing face masks attend a class on their first day of returning to school following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Guiyang, Guizhou province, China March 16, 2020. cns — Students attend class on their first day of returning to school following the outbreak of coronavirus in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China. [Cnsphoto/Reuters]

Members of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) prepare to disinfect the Malaga-Costa del Sol international airport during partial lockdown as part of a 15-day state of emergency to combat the coronaviru — The Military Emergencies Unit prepares to disinfect the Malaga-Costa del Sol international airport during a partial lockdown in Malaga, Spain. [Jon Nazca/Reuters]

Household provisions are seeing in depleted quantities with nearly empty shelves at a department store in Washington, D.C., March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Gavino Garay - RC2TKF9WJS26 — Household provisions are depleted on nearly empty shelves at a department store in Washington, DC in the United States [Gavino Garay/Reuters]

Cemetery workers and funeral agency workers in protective masks transport a coffin of a person who died from coronavirus disease (COVID-19), into a cemetery in Bergamo, Italy March 16, 2020. REUTERS/F — Mourners transport the coffin of a person who died from coronavirus into a cemetery in Bergamo, Italy. [Flavio Lo Scalzo/Reuters]

A family wears protective face masks due to the coronavirus outbreak, as they line up at counters in a super market in Bangkok, Thailand March 16, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun - RC21LF9EZ7SE — A family stocks up at a supermarket in Bangkok, Thailand. [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]

An employee wearing a protective face mask cleans and disinfects a subway train, as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Moscow, Russia March 16, 2020. REUTERS/Tatyana M — An employee disinfects a subway train as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Moscow, Russia. [Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters]

Volunteers from Indonesia''s Red Cross, wearing protective suits, walk while carrying disinfectant sprayers at a school complex, closed amid the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Jakarta, Indonesia, — Volunteers from the Indonesian Red Cross Society spray a school complex amid the spread of coronavirus in Jakarta, Indonesia [Willy Kurniawan/Reuters]

People wait in line after the government limits the number of customers in supermarkets to 50 at a time due to coronavirus (COVID-19) threat in Podgorica, Montenegro March 16, 2020. REUTERS/Stevo Vasi — People wait in line after the government limited the number of customers in supermarkets to 50 in Podgorica, Montenegro. [Stevo Vasiljevic/Reuters]