Eminonu District in Istanbul, Turkey, March 31, 2020. (Photo: CGTN)

Lockdowns to halt the spread of the coronavirus have brought an uncanny silence to some of the world's busiest places. Transport hubs that should be teeming with travelers such as New York's Grand Central station or Istanbul's Eminonu ferry docks are all but deserted.

Our best loved tourist sites or promenades, the Malecon seafront in the Cuban capital Havana, the Damascus Gate entrance to Jerusalem and the Old Town Square in the Czech capital Prague are empty of visitors and the traders that live from them, as borders close and tourists stay home.

Squares like Cairo's Tahrir Square and Kiev's Maidan are clear.

Reuters photographers have captured the hush that has descended on some of the world's best-known sites on the same day, at noon.