Photo Essay: Coronavirus Shuts Down The City That Never Sleeps - New York

In the past few days, Manhattan began to resemble a ghost town as tourists, residents and office workers fled for the safety of their own homes to wait out the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

We sent savvy traveller, Natalia Raiz, out on a mission to document the changed environment.

“I saw very random people walking to have fun and take pictures on Times Square. Mostly photographers, bloggers, and ordinary people just crossing going to work.
The majority of almost 700 hotels are going to close. The city is pursuing plans to convert some into makeshift hospitals. Hotels will also be used to quarantine individuals, including the homeless, says Deanne Criswell, commissioner of the city's Emergency Management Department. The city already has contracts in place for 1,500 hotel rooms as of last Tuesday.
President and CEO of the Hotel Association in NYC said: "It's going to take us years to recover."

Today, the government announced that the sprawling Jacob Javits Convention Center will be converted to a makeshift hospital, relieving the pressure on local hospitals.