• Live: last minute of the coronavirus

A bustling city, a national and international destination for millions of tourists, which would now be grooming itself to celebrate Easter, but since the decree of alarm for the Covid-19 pandemic has withdrawn in an almost introspective way. The noise of the traffic and the murmur of the people have given way before a silence that breaks the sirens of the emergency services and applause of support for those who fight against the disease. This is the new reality of Malaga seen from the air. The example of the transformation that the great cities of our country have undergone in just over two weeks.

A video recorded by the Air Service of the National Police, to which EL MUNDO has had access, shows a practically deserted Malaga in which the reduction of 75 and 76 percent of vehicle exits and entrances becomes visible, respectively, that the city has experienced, according to data provided by the Provincial Traffic Headquarters.

The decrease in circulation becomes more evident when the images of some of the main branches of the road network are completely empty. The Malaga City Council determined that the average daily intensity drop was 89 percent in the 40 points analyzed on March 22. The east access of Manuel Agustín Heredia avenue, for example, registered 1,282 vehicles compared to the 20,255 on average that were recorded on Sundays in the third quarter of last year. While Valle Inclán avenue was reduced from 25,231 to 3,228.

Very few of these cars belong to individuals, and most are from delivery companies, law enforcement, operational services, and citizens who cannot telework.

This notable drop in traffic has influenced air quality, which has obviously improved and which has also benefited from the latest rains. A limitation of movements that dilutes a city that approaches 600,000 inhabitants.

The images captured by the police helicopter show the Guadalhorce industrial estate, the accesses through the western zone and enter the city to show an empty port where cruise ships cannot dock since March 15 to prevent the spread of the disease .

The feeling of emptiness becomes more intense when it shows the Plaza de la Marina, the City Hall building and the Plaza de Torrijos, a knot that connects the city center with the eastern area. And it does not change when the device flies over the Pablo Ruíz Picasso promenade and the deserted beaches are observed after the closure decreed by the Consistory.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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  • Andalusia
  • Malaga
  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19

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