When Time Stood Still: A Look Back at the Pandemic
Five years after the pandemic was declared, this collection revisits daily life during the first months of lockdown and the fight against Covid-19 through the lenses of seven renowned photographers and photojournalists: Adelino Meireles, Adriano Miranda, Isabel Zuzarte, Leonardo Negrão, Leonel de Castro, Miguel Valle de Figueiredo and Reinaldo Rodrigues.
2 min
On 2 March 2020, Portugal confirmed its first two cases of a new coronavirus originating from China. Just nine days later, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic. By the end of March, public services in Portugal had been restricted, schools closed and education moved online. A State of Emergency was declared, and the Portuguese people retreated into their homes.
These images, captured by seven photographers and photojournalists, chronicle the profound social and economic shifts of those first months. Portugal experienced multiple waves of the disease, which infected over 5.5 million people and claimed 26,200 lives.
March 2020: Calouste Gulbenkian Avenue, empty/Isabel Zuzarte
March 2022: The number of new infections continues to rise. Avenida António Augusto de Aguiar, Lisbon/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
March 2020: Manuel Matos, 84, in social isolation, following the regulations for containing the spread of Covid-19/Reinaldo Rodrigues
March 2020: Field hospital at São João Hospital, Porto, where people wait in line to be tested for Covid-19/Adelino Meireles.
March 2020: During 12-hour shifts supporting patients in intensive care. “The mask is the worst,” explains Ana Neves, a medical assistant at Santos Silva Hospital in Vila Nova de Gaia/Adelino Meireles
March 2020: Lockdown in the bedroom, Aveiro/Adriano Miranda
March 2020: Lúcia Moreira from the São João Evangelista Parish Social Centre delivers lunch to housebound residents /Reinaldo Rodrigues
Stuck inside at home in Aveiro/Adriano Miranda
April 2020: A funeral ceremony for one of the first Covid-19 victims, at the Lapa crematorium in Porto. Only her daughter, son-in-law and another couple could be there to say their goodbyes/Adelino Meireles
April 2020: Mandatory home confinement is in place and calls for people to stay indoors are increasing./Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
April 2020: Infected patients in intensive care at Bragança Hospital/Leonel de Castro
April 2020: Disinfecting streets and other public spaces in Lisbon/Reinaldo Rodrigues
April 2020: Lisbon's Chiado and Baixa districts are empty/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
April 2020: Shops are closed in Lisbon’s Baixa district/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
April 2020: Lisbon's Baixa district is empty/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
April 2020: The Patriarch of Lisbon celebrates Easter Mass in the Cathedral without a congregation/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
April 2020: The government-imposed lockdown forces Lisbon residents to stay at home/Leonardo Negrão
During lockdown, balconies become spaces for escape/Leonardo Negrão
April 2020: At Casa da Acreditar, Lisbon/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
Working out by the rectory of the NOVA University Lisbon/ Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
May 2020: 1 May Day celebrations in Alameda, Lisbon/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
May 2020: At the demonstration called by the CGTP-IN (General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers) in Lisbon, with over a thousand people in attendance/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
May 2020: At a kiosk in Lisbon during the state of emergency/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
November 2020: Protest by business owners and workers in the restaurant, bar and nightclub sector/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
November 2020: Protest by business owners and workers in the restaurant, bar and nightclub sector/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
Grounded aeroplanes fill the runway at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
2020: A deserted city. Rua do Alecrim, in Lisbon's Chiado district/Isabel Zuzarte
2020: A deserted city. By Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, in Lisbon/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
2020: A deserted city. Santa Apolónia station, Lisbon, empty/Isabel Zuzarte
2020: A deserted city. Largo de Camões, Lisbon/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
2020: A deserted city. At the top of Parque Eduardo VII, Lisbon/Isabel Zuzarte
2020: A deserted city. Eixo Norte Sul in Lisbon/Isabel Zuzarte
2020: A deserted city. Campo Pequeno, Lisbon/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
2020: A deserted city. Avenida Lusíada, Lisbon/Isabel Zuzarte
2020: A deserted city. Parque das Nações, Lisbon/Miguel Valle de Figueiredo
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