Emptiness. Click.

Streets are without life and rhythmPhotohrapher Sebastian Strama 47Hometown Krakow PolandCurrently in KrakowInstagram sebastuffCOVID in Poland 1400 positive cases 16 deathsSebastian StramaThis is a very difficult time for us The virus has shown us how unpredictable life can be One day I woke up and thought to myself what a crucial and challenging moment we are all facing right now So a week ago when the effects of COVID19 actually started to show in my city I took my camera and decided to documentWhile Poland so far is in the early stages of the global pandemic restrictions have been introduced in order to minimise transmission As for Krakow which sustains on tourism and the entertainment that goes with it the effects are serious Last year the city of almost one million was visited by over 14 million touristsOnce a crowded restaurant Strama captures its now haunting emptinessOvernight most businesses have lost customers jobs and earning opportunities And now that tourists and students have disappeared the Main Market Square is frighteningly empty Did you know that this centre Main Market Square dates back to the 13th century and is the largest medieval town square in EuropeWhen I first saw it abandoned by people I was shocked I have never seen it like this I saw something that immediately reminded me of apocalyptic visions from scifi movies There was both curiosity and fear I saw no life no rhythm there So my first reflex was to pull out the camera and capture the unsettling moodThe next day while shopping to stock up my kitchen I walked past a familiar bar Behind its closed window I saw the interior covered with garden chairs and tables On one of the tables was a newspaper headlined Corona report And I thought someone must have panicked after reading it and left it in the bar A day later I returned to take a picture of it but the newspaper had been cleared That moment pushed me into starting a photographic series And the main role is played by empty streets closed bars and restaurantsSpy on neighbours and feel like a creepy Jimmy StewartA mannequin in Malaysia is seen holding a sign that says the shop has run out of maskThe photographer Shashwati Talukdar 51Hometown Dehradun IndiaCurrently in TaiwanInstagram madamejiCOVID in Taiwan 235 confirmed cases 2 deathsShashwati TalukdarEVERYTHING happened so gradually you didnt realise when it snuck up on you While I live between India and Taiwan I was in the latter country at the time the world became aware of COVID19 Now one must realise that Taiwan is a special case because the UN has not even recognised it as a real country Also Taiwan is close to the epicentremdashChinaAs it is China has been long threatening Taiwan saying it is their province It already feels like living in a scifi film because the country is facing an existential crisis However the government here is very efficient In December itself people knew something was up and were prepared They started wearing masks and hand sanitisers quickly became available at public spaces etc But it was during a trip to Malaysia in January that I actually felt the heatMy husband and I went to a restaurant at a beach where we were staying and the cook refused to serve guests from China Since we speak Chinese fluently we intervened and told the owner that xenophobia is not welcome and that these guests were not living anywhere close to HubeiLater that evening we went to buy masks because we wanted to be prepared But we saw that none of the shops had them This was when I came across a mannequin which held a placard that read masks are unavailable I took a pictureJust when Taiwan was closing its borders Talukdar captured the intense journey from her Dehradun home to the airportAfter returning to Taiwan things got pretty intense The government was mulling closing the borders But I could not witness most of it as I flew to Delhi in the first week of March I was a student of Jamia so I wanted to visit all the protest sites There was eerie silence there too Not because of the virus but the recent violence Those who noticed my mask mocked me but I knew things had gone too far in Taiwan and had to be carefulFrom Delhi I went to Dehradun where people had begun social distancing Finally when I was leaving for Taiwan on the night of March 22 I was scared that the authorities may create an issue at the airport So I documented the intense journey in the cab from home to the airport Luckily everything went smoothly and here in Taiwan I am under lockdown I just took a picture looking out the window spying on my neighbours also locked up in their homes I feel like a creepy Jimmy StewartJust two balloons at a weddingA wedding Drescher witnessed in Munich had the couple hold balloons minus guests and celebrationsThe photographer Joumlrg Drescher 53Hometown Bad Saulgau GermanyCurrently in Munich GermanyInstagram joergdrescherCOVID in Germany 42288 confirmed cases 253 deathsCOVID in Qatar 537 confirmed cases no deathJorg DrescherI AM a vagabond Before moving back to Germany 15 years ago I was in UAE and Saudi Arabia Since I am a photographer I usually have my camera with me I have always believed that where there is emotion there is a story and where there is a story there is a picture worth takingIn midFebruary I went on a trip to Venice My dream was to capture the carnival but it was empty After China Italy is worst hit by the virus Two weeks later I flew to Qatar to visit my son who is completing an internship there I was screened at the airport and everything otherwise seemed fine But when I exited I realised how much Qatar had changed due to COVID19 I saw fewer people on the streets those who were there were wearing masks It was surreal This was when I took a picture of a man wearing a mask and realised that the virus is not stopping at China I felt vulnerableA lost glove on a street in Bavaria the day the curfew started in GermanyOn March 4 I was supposed to fly to Dubai but decided against it Since the pandemic had started to hit Europe I decided to return to my family in Munich Here we understand how critical the situation is So we are in selfisolationSince I have a dog despite the lockdown I need to take him for a walk every day But I am not a youngster anymore and try to keep safe distance from people when I cross the street With a camera and gear in tow we go for walks in empty parks and streets During one such walk on the first day of our curfew I went to Munichs famous castle Nyphemburg I saw a young couple just married standing next to a pair of red balloons There was no party no guests and no celebration It was all cancelled All they had were two balloons to express their loveWorse than a conflict zoneThe usually bustling Stazione Centrale the main railway station of Milan wears a deserted lookThe photographer Eugenio Grosso 36Currently in Milan ItalyInstagram eugrossoCOVID in Italy 66414 confirmed cases 9134 deathsEugenio GrossoEVERY time I am out shooting in Milan it feels surreal wandering through streets that not so long ago were packed with people through the night Stazione Centrale the train station in particular is a place I have always seen full people arriving and leaving When I first entered the station since the beginning of the lockdown I felt like an archaeologist entering a temple abandoned for centuries The large hall was empty and everything was silent At the platform the situation was different There were a few passengers and a posse of police officers and soldiers checking them I couldnt have imagine that this was where I had lived now the army was controlling who was allowed to leave and notI have worked in conflict zones but I find working in this environment more stressful When you are covering a conflict the danger is often visible you hear the shots and see the explosions at some point you leave the front and know that for some time you are okay In this case you never know if you are in real danger or not Moreover at some point we journalists covering the Covid19 outbreak have all developed this sense of being infected and the fear of becoming responsible for possibly infecting our loved onesI started my career covering breaking news so I spent the first few days after the outbreak running around like I used to do 10 years ago We all understood the virus outbreak was very big and wanted to cover every single aspect However after some time I felt I wanted to look deeper I slowed down and am now looking for more evocative images of this crisisA security personnel screens a passenger at Stazione CentraleAs a photojournalist I am still allowed to move around At night the noise of the ambulance is louder than during the day and sometimes you can see people getting out of their buildings and being escorted by paramedics People have to queue for a long time to get into supermarkets I waited 50 minutes for my last grocery shopping The situation is dramatic people are dying but funerals are prohibited to prevent the virus from spreading The other day my mother texted me that an old lady who used to take care of me when I was a little boy passed away We all know that those people are likely to have died because of Covid19 but they will never be tested so that their names dont make it to the official statisticsThis is historical evidence for future generationsAnamikas son Avaan hugs his father Pawan On returning home from a grocery store Pawan hugged our son and it didnrsquot feel like a normal hug It was a hug of fear of gratitude of hope she saysThe photographer Anamika Singh 39Currently in Thane MumbaiInstagram anamikasinghphotographyCOVID in India 803 confirmed cases 20 deathsAnamika SinghPhotography has always been more than a passion for me It gives me the purpose in life to connect with people and document their joys and share them with others In this global crisis I thought about how I could help spread positivity and the answer was through my images I actively document my daily life on regular days too but being in social isolation with my family I started documenting our lives during quarantine with this purpose One of my subjects has been my motherinlaw who visits us every winter She had plans of returning to Delhi in the first week of April however due to her medical history she voluntarily isolated herself when the news of the pandemic broke not realising well be lockdown later Its over 20 days she hasnt stepped out of home and in these times speaking to her near and dear ones over phone has been healing for herMy husband Pawan Saxena is our warrior He steps out to buy the essential supplies and enforces a strict protocol for sanitisation post that Just after one of these trips he hugged our son Avaan and it didnt feel like a normal hug It was a hug of fear of gratitude of hopeAnamika Singhs motherinlaw in isolationWith a 70 and a sevenyearold at home we ought to be more careful with social distancing The initial days of confinement went by fine but now our child longs to go down to play and meet his friends The next few weeks are going to be toughThe picture of my son sitting in the sunlight streaming through my bedroom window makes me grateful for all that we have The other day I was complaining about not having a balcony at homeA while later when I called my house help to check on her she mentioned how claustrophobic it gets for them in the shanties I couldnt feel more content with lifeA man wanted to break my cameraThe photographer Mahsa Safari 25Currently in Gorgan IranInstagram moonsfr733COVID in Iran 18821 confirmed cases 2378 deathsMahsa SafariI AM a photojournalist from Gorgan a city located 400 km to the north east of Tehran Currently we are under lockdown Schools restaurants cultural centres and community prayer halls have been closed for a month My foremost concern is contracting the virus and passing it on to my family The other challenge is dealing with the paucity of masks santisers and gloves while Im out on the streets documenting the crisis Its not easy being in this profession due to peoples attitude towards photography and their resistance to it A few days ago a man wanted to break my cameraThe focus of my photography is to capture the hard work of people on the frontline including doctors nurses paramedics police workers and garbage collectors who are braving the odds every day I also want to document the lives of those who are helping flatten the curve by going into isolation and shutting down their businessesBut from what Ive seen a lot of people still step out unnecessarily and dont comply with the quarantine orders The other day I went to a traditional coffee shop in the area Despite warnings they had opened but they had no customers The owner said he opened because he is worried about meeting everyday needs Nearly 400 people have died in my hometown but unfortunately they have not declared the real statistics to the publicBuses in Gorgan are running nearly emptyNaturally my family has been discouraging me from going out to take pictures in the city and hospitals As a photojournalist it is my job to publish photos and news despite the dangers Its astounding how despite all the medical and technological advancements a virus has brought the world to a standstill and we are still scrambling for a cureCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates