‘Unreal’: Sliema Turns Into Ghost Town During Morning Rush Hour Amidst Partial National Lockdown
Here’s a sight you definitely wouldn’t have been able to see before Coronavirus fears spread worldwide. This morning, at the busiest time for one of the busiest towns in Malta, barely a soul could be seen… and one professional photographer was on site to capture it all.
“It’s somehow unreal, like a time machine taking me back 30 years,” Bernard Polidano confessed this morning, sharing numerous eerie photos of Sliema at 9:30am.
“I felt like I was a kid once again, walking around the streets of Sliema and barely seeing a car driving by, let alone someone walking.”
“Streets deserted, shops closed and parking spaces everywhere.”
The photos, which were uploaded in black and white for added poignant effect, depict everything from a completely deserted Plaza Shopping Complex (one of the busiest hubs in Sliema, especially at that time) to an eerily empty parking area along the usually bustling Strand.
Most companies around the island – including large iGaming ones based in Sliema, G?ira and Ta’ Xbiex – implemented a remote working from home procedure this week. All schools have been closed for two days now, with the government now confirming that they are to remain closed until at least 17th April.
With new COVID-19 positive cases being confirmed on a daily basis, people are bound to leave their houses less and less, and surreal sights like that of Sliema this morning will soon become even more common.
Shout out to Bernard Polidano for the awesome photos!
Tag someone who would usually be in Sliema right now
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