Before-and-after photos show how deserted Rio de Janeiro’s bustling beaches are during the coronavirus pandemic

• On March 17, Rio went into lockdown after Gov. Wilson Witzel declared a city-wide state of emergency, that included ordering people to avoid beaches and public pools.
• Aerial photos show a stark contrast between what the city’s beaches looked like before and after the coronavirus.
• The city’s Christ the Redeemer statue, a popular tourist destination, is also empty.
• As of March 31, Brazil had 5,717 confirmed case of COVID-19, and 201 deaths, according to The Brazilian Report.
• Here’s what Rio looks like during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

BEFORE: Rio de Janeiro’s beaches, including Copacabana and Ipanema, are famous. According to The Guardian they evoke: “freedom, youth and long, sun-kissed limbs.” In the summer it can be difficult to see the sand.

Source: The Guardian

AFTER: But after Rio Gov. Wilson Witzel declared a city-wide state of emergency on March 17 that was no longer a problem.

Source: ABC News

BEFORE: Ipanema, a two-mile-long golden beach, is well known from the song: “The Girl From Ipanema.” This is the beach on a summer’s day last year.

Source: US News

AFTER: This is Ipanema mostly deserted on March 27.

BEFORE: According to a New York Times report in 1970, the beaches were “an easy safety valve for the pressures of urban living in the subtropical heat.”

Source: The New York Times

AFTER: But even before the lockdown beach days were being disrupted by firemen "blaring recordings," telling people to go home, according to ABC News. Here's what it looks like from above on March 29.

Source: ABC News

BEFORE: Other than swimming and sunbathing, Rio's beaches are filled with people playing football or volleyball.

AFTER: Now the volleyball nets have been removed. A lone girl sits under a tree on March 28.

BEFORE: People can exercise, walking or cycling, along a pedestrian route beside the beaches, too.

AFTER: Very few were people were out exercising on March 29.

BEFORE: Another bustling swimming spot in Rio is Piscinao de Ramos or "big pool of Ramos," a man-made salt-water lake. It's a popular place for locals to swim at that's closer to their homes.

Source: PRI

AFTER: On March 28, it was deserted.

BEFORE: It's not just the beaches. Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue typically gets about 2 million tourists each year.

Source: ABC News

AFTER: But on March 17, it closed. On March 19 there were no tourists taking selfies with the statue.

Source: ABC News