TORONTO -- Haunting drone footage of the central Chinese city of Wuhan shows a normally bustling metropolis transformed into a ghost town following the coronavirus outbreak.
The aerial video was taken by a journalist working with ChinaFile and shows the city under lockdown after authorities ordered an unprecedented quarantine of 11 million people there on Jan. 23, in an effort to contain the deadly outbreak.
The new virus, labelled 2019-nCov, is believed to have originated in a live seafood market in Wuhan.
In scenes reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic movie, the drone hovers above wide deserted streets as a few stray cars, cyclists and pedestrians make their way around the desolate city, which has a larger population than New York or London.
Wuhan’s airport can be seen from the air, with planes parked at the disused terminals. Huge bridges across the city’s waterways are practically empty.
The city’s downtown core is likewise missing its usual throngs of people. Most residents remain indoors and those that do venture out for food can be seen wearing surgical masks.
The footage was taken in late January and early February, according to ChinaFile.
The coronavirus has infected more than 24,000 people globally and killed nearly 500.
Soon after Chinese authorities announced the quarantine for Wuhan, officials put 15 other cities on lockdown, bringing the total number of affected citizens to about 45 million.
