The Week in Pictures: The world in the grip of a spreading virus

An empty 42nd Street in Manhattan on March 22.

A victim of the coronavirus is evacuated from a hospital in Mulhouse on March 23. The Grand Est region is now the epicenter of the outbreak in France, which has buried the third most virus victims in Europe, after Italy and Spain.

Commuters wearing masks make their way to work March 26. 

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike held a press conference Wednesday night to request that citizens refrain from going outside this weekend for nonessential reasons after 41 new cases were confirmed Tuesday.

Gonzaga Yiga, a community chairperson, stands on the tallest building in the area as he appeals to residents to take precautions to curb the spread of the coronavirus on March 24 in Kampala, Uganda.

Healthcare workers dealing with the coronavirus crisis look through the windows of the University Hospital Coruna on March 26.

Spain's coronavirus death toll surged above 4,000 on Thursday, but the increase in both fatalities and new infections slowed, leaving officials hopeful a nationwide lockdown is starting to curb the spread of the virus.

A sample is collected at a COVID-19 drive-in screening on March 23 in Lisses, France.

A member of the Air Force exits a makeshift morgue erected ahead of an expected surge of coronavirus victims outside Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan on March 25.

A close-up of President Donald Trump's notes shows where "Corona" was crossed out and replaced with "Chinese" as he speaks with his coronavirus task force during a briefing at the White House on March 19.

A subway passenger uses a tissue to protect her hand while holding onto a pole on March 19.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tightened work-from-home rules as confirmed cases continued to climb, an expected jump as testing becomes more widespread. But he stressed that roadblocks and martial law for the city were merely rumors.

Schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo, 35, takes a picture of his two-year-old daughter Bianca painting his toenails as his wife looks out from their balcony, in San Fiorano, one of the original "red zone" towns in northern Italy on March 20.

Toniolo has been documenting how his family has dealt with being under quarantine since it began for them in February.

A municipal worker disinfects the subway stairs to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on March 25 in Budapest. 

Don Giuseppe Corbari, parson of the Church of Robbiano, adjusts photos of his congregation filling the empty pews before celebrating Mass on March 22 in Giussano. Corbari’s parish livestreams Masses on Sundays for parishioners to watch. 

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte ordered all non-essential companies and factories to close nationwide the day prior to stem the pandemic.

A Serbian soldier walks through beds set up in one of the halls at the Belgrade Fair to accommodate people suffering mild symptoms from the coronavirus on March 24. 

Palestinian groom Mohamed abu Daga and his bride Israa wear face masks during a photo shoot before their wedding ceremony on March 23 in Khan Yunis. 

Authorities in Gaza confirmed on Sunday the first two cases of coronavirus, identifying them as Palestinians who had traveled to Pakistan and were being held in quarantine since their return.

Passengers squeeze on to a busy Central Line underground train at Stratford station on March 23.

London's transportation authorities faced criticism after passengers posted photos on social media of crowded trains during the commute. Dozens of underground stations were closed but authorities are maintaining the system to enable "critical workers to make essential journeys."

A single sunbather remains following the closure of Bondi Beach on March 21 in Sydney. The beach was closed after thousands of peopled flocked there, defying social distancing orders. 

Dana Baer and her son Jacob wish Avery Slutsky a happy sixth birthday from their car during a drive-by birthday celebration as they maintain social distance on March 24 in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. 

A municipal worker sanitize the areas surrounding the Giza pyramids in hopes of curbing the coronavirus outbreak on March 25.

An opera singer performs "O Sole Mio" from his window on March 26, the tenth day of a strict lockdown in France aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus.

President Donald Trump debates with NBC News White House Correspondent Peter Alexander during a news briefing at the White House on March 20.

Alexander asked Trump to respond to Americans who are scared by the pandemic, which triggered the president to reply with an insult.

Soldiers disinfect the Department of Land Transportation office in Bangkok on March 24.

Employees eat lunch at a Dongfeng Honda auto plant on March 23 in Wuhan.

People in central China, where the coronavirus was first detected, are now allowed to go back to work and public transport has restarted, as some normality slowly returns after a two-month lockdown.

A young boy rides his bike past a deer wandering around a shopping area in Nara, Japan, on March 19.

While most deer stay within the boundaries of their grassy park, now that the area is devoid of tourists, some wander off to gift shops and restaurants across the street looking for a replacement to the rice crackers normally fed to them by visitors. The deer have the right of way, and drivers honor it.

Indians clap from balconies to show their appreciation for health care workers in Mumbai on March 22. 

The country of 1.3 billion began a 21-day lockdown on Wednesday. 

A government employee reacts as she is sprayed with disinfectant before entering a government office building in Pasig City, Metro Manila, on March 19.

The Philippine government has sealed off Luzon, the country's largest and most populous island, to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Land, sea, and air travel has been suspended, while government work, schools, businesses, and public transportation have been ordered shut in a bid to keep some 55 million people at home.

Joseph Nathan loads toilet paper into the trunk of his car after shopping at a Stop & Shop supermarket that offered special morning hours to serve people 60 years and older, because of their increased vulnerability to the coronavirus, on March 20 in Teaneck, N.J.

A member of Joint Task Force 2, composed of soldiers and airmen from the New York Army and Air National Guard, carries paper towels as he arrives to sanitize and disinfect the Young Israel of New Rochelle synagogue on March 23.

Father Scott Holmer of St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church makes the sign of the cross while holding confession in the church parking lot on March 20, 2020 in Bowie, Md.

Holmer stays six feet away from those in cars during the drive-through confessions.

A nurse in a protective suit attends to a baby with COVID-19 at an isolation ward of Wuhan Children's Hospital on March 16.

This image was released on March 19.

A teenage girl watches a show on her laptop in her room in Madrid on March 18.

The Government of Spain has strengthened up its quarantine rules, shutting all commercial activities except for pharmacies, food shops, gas stations, tobacco stores and news kiosks. 

Coffins of people who have died from the coronavirus are lined up at a church in Alessandria on March 23.

Faced with one of the world's deadliest outbreak of the new coronavirus, many places in northern Italy are struggling to cope with the number of deaths.

Latest news on the coronavirus pandemic