Eerie photos show empty streets in Italy amid coronavirus fears

The Vittorio Emanuele Gallery in the city center is seen empty on February 26, 2020 in Milan, Italy. The country is struggling to understand how it went from six coronavirus cases to 374 cases and 12 dead since last Friday, becoming Europe's worst-affected country. Many communities across the Lombardy and Veneto regions have seen the suspension of public events and church services, and the closure of grade schools, universities and museums. Twelve towns have been locked down entirely, with road blocks preventing the exit and entrance of people. The government has also imposed quarantines for those who have had close contact with confirmed cases of the illness. less The Vittorio Emanuele Gallery in the city center is seen empty on February 26, 2020 in Milan, Italy. The country is struggling to understand how it went from six coronavirus cases to 374 cases and 12 dead since ... more Photo: Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images Photo: Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images Image 1 of / 60 Caption Close Eerie photos show empty streets in Italy amid coronavirus fears 1 / 60 Back to Gallery

Milan's Piazza del Duomo is typically thronged with hundreds of tourists.

But recent photos from Italy's fashion capital show only a few people standing in the massive plaza that surrounds a Gothic cathedral dating back to the 1300s.

As concerns of an outbreak of the new coronavirus, Covid 19, heighten in Italy, the streets of Milan have emptied and images show an eerie scene. Typically bustling cafes and shops are closed, and train stations look like ghost towns.

Italy had 447 cases of the pneumonia-like virus as of late Wednesday. Twelve people have died, all of them elderly.

Only 60 miles west of Milan, the Lombardy region has been hit especially hard. Ten towns are on army-guarded lock-downs. The region has the most cases with 305 patients — four of them children. The town of Veneto saw a spike of 28 cases overnight, bringing its total to 71.

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Italy sought to rally international support for its virus containment efforts Wednesday as people linked to the country fell ill across Europe and as far away as Brazil, and the U.N.'s health agency urged a scaled-up response.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte's government appealed to European neighbors for cooperation, not isolation and discrimination. Italy has been struggling to contain the rapidly spreading outbreak that made it the country with more coronavirus cases outside Asia than anywhere else.

“Viruses don’t know borders and they don’t stop at them,” Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza insisted at the start of a crisis meeting with World Health Organization and European Union representatives in Rome.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Amy Graff is a digital editor. Email her news tips at agraff@sfgate.com.