Thread by @JasonS1269

When SARS-CoV-2 started infecting the world.
Some of the iconic pictures captured in 2020.
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The body of a suspected SARS-CoV-2 victim is wrapped in plastic in an Indonesian hospital. The government's protocols were to wrap patients in plastic & bury them quickly. "Many who saw the image initially declared it a set-up to promote fear". Joshua Irwandi, photographer.

Children wear plastic bottles on top of masks at Beijing Capital Airport. "I spotted this family amongst many leaving China in fear & trepidation. We knew so little about the virus then. The parents were doing anything possible to protect their kids". Kevin Frayer, photographer.

In Italy, one of the earliest & deadly hotspots for SARS-Cov-2 parents watch a funeral worker move the coffin of their 47-year-old son. "The father was fine with me taking it, saying he wanted the world to see what was happening to families" Alessio Paduano, photographer.

Dr Joseph Varon comforts a patient in the United Memorial Medical Center ICU in Houston. "He's trying to get out of bed & crying I ask him what's wrong. He says he wants to be with his wife" Varon. "I'm glad I was able to capture the Dr's compassion" Go Nakamura, photographer.

A man waits for the body of his aunt, Lucia to be collected in Manaus, Brazil. The 60-year-old matriarch died rapidly after infection. Photographer André Coelho was following a team collecting bodies & helping with burials for poor families.

Unclaimed bodies are buried on Hart Island, NYC public cemetery. "The scene seemed so surreal, with implications so sobering, that I was optimistic it would be impossible for anyone to doubt the pandemic's effects after publishing the images". Lucas Jackson, drone photographer.

Romelia Navarro is comforted by nurse Michele Younkin while sitting at the bedside of her dying husband in a hospital in California. Navarro & her son were saying their final goodbyes. "Her sobbing grew louder as her husband's heart rate started dropping". Jae Hong, photographer.

El Paso County inmates load bodies of victims into a refrigerated trailer in Texas. "These low-level inmates represent just a few of the thousands of 'last responders' who courageously handled the remains of the deceased across the US". Mario Tama, photographer.

Fransisco Espana, recovering, looks at the Mediterranean Sea from a promenade in Barcelona, Spain. "It's important to keep in mind the emotional well-being of patients & try to work on it in the early stages of recovery" Dr. Judith Marin.

A woman's reflection is seen as she views a coffin in Milan, Italy. Italy was put under 'total lockdown' as COVID spread rapidly. "The streets were empty, the hospitals full & within days the cemeteries were running out of slots". Gabriele Galimberti, photographer.

Jessica Holguin comforts her younger sister, Natalie, at the viewing service for their father, Jose, who died at 50. "There's something in the image, that features no coffin or body, that hits you in the gut. It's pure grief" photographer Andrew Kelly, who was invited by family.

A beach in Bournemouth, England, is packed with people in June. Boris Johnson eased restrictions in May, but people were still supposed to be socially distancing. "It was like the lid had come off a pressure cooker with so many people visiting" photographer Finnbarr Webster.

Ballet dancer Ashlee Montague wears a gas mask while dancing in Times Square, New York. "Typically crowded Times Square was almost empty. It felt like we were the last people left on Earth" photographer Andrew Kelly.

Lori Spencer visits her mother, 81-year-old Judie Shape, at the Life Care Center nursing home in Washington. "I realized the heartbreaking danger of patients dying alone, separated from family & loved ones" Jason Redmond, photographer.

In March, a customer pushes her shopping cart next to empty shelves at a supermarket in Harpenden, England. The photo was taken two days after non-essential travel was enforced. A few days later the UK population were ordered to stay at home.

Opera singer Stephane Senechal sings for his neighbours from his apartment window in Paris. It was the 10th day of lockdown in France. "Here, at my window, it's stronger than the opera because I'm not playing a role, I'm myself".

Giuseppe Corbari holds Sunday Mass in front of photographs which were sent by his congregation in Giussanno, Italy. He received more than 100 photos from his parishioners, which he printed & stuck to empty pews to feel less alone while broadcasting Mass over the radio.

Elementary school pupils sit at desks spaced apart in Denmark, in April. Denmark was the first country in the Western world to reopen its schools. Before children entered they were playfully introduced to social distancing using 2-meter-long ropes.

People in Toronto participate in an outdoor yoga class in June. "As measured gradually loosened & the weather warmed the Toronto public started to emerge from their homes looking for some semblance of 'normal'." Carlos Osorio, photographer.

Dana Clark & her 18-month-old son, Mason wait in line at City Hall to vote in New Orleans in October. Clark, a teacher, said she used the "safety pod" because Mason didn't have a mask & she didn't know how many others would be wearing masks.

A healthcare worker stands in a Denver street counter-protesting a rally where people were demanding that stay-at-home orders be lifted. The healthcare workers wanted to get the message across that people need to stay at home to protect themselves & people I'm the medical field.

Ann Webb Camp & Clemintine Banks hand a ballot to a voter in St. Louis. "What I discovered was those people who had just tested positive realized they couldn't go to the polls the following day but desperately wanted to vote". Robert Cohen, photographer.

Cardboard cutouts replace fans in the stands at the New York Met's first opening game. "What I remember the most are the recorded sounds of the fans piped into the stadium. On TV it gave a sense of normalcy. But being there in person only made the lack of fans more pronounced".