Photos: Coronavirus lockdown turns Rome into a ghost town

A man wearing a protection mask walks by the Spanish Steps at a deserted Piazza di Spagna in central Rome on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
A delivery man wearing a protective mask pushes a cart across a deserted Via del Corso main shopping street in central Rome on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
A tourist wearing a protection mask stands by a deserted Trevi Fountain in central Rome on March 12, 2020 in Rome, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)
A person rides a bicycle across a deserted avenue in Rome's Prati district on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus that has killed 827 in the the country in just over two weeks. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
A market worker wearing a protective mask walks past closed stalls in the non-food section of a market in Rome on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus that has killed 827 in the the country in just over two weeks. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
A general view shows a deserted Via Cristoforo Colombo in Rome on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus. (Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP) (Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY - MARCH 12: Platform five of the Trastevere train station, which is the train platform from the city center to Fiumicino airport is seen deserted on March 12, 2020 in Rome, Italy. The Italian Government has taken the unprecedented measure of a nationwide lockdown by closing all businesses except essential services such as, pharmacies, grocery stores, hardware stores and tobacconists and banks, in an effort to fight the world's second-most deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak outside of China.The movements in and out are allowed only for work reasons, health reasons proven by a medical certificate. Citizens have an obligation to respect the safety distance of one meter from each other in a row at supermarkets or in public spaces. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY - MARCH 12: A girl who would like to visit her boyfriend looks at the train timetable on the Rome Trastevere train station, looking for a possible solution in a deserted station where many trains have been canceled, next to a sign that says: Coronavirus (COVID-19), we are all in the front line to contain the infection on March 12, 2020 in Rome, Italy. The Italian Government has taken the unprecedented measure of a nationwide lockdown by closing all businesses except essential services such as, pharmacies, grocery stores, hardware stores and tobacconists and banks, in an effort to fight the world's second-most deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak outside of China.The movements in and out are allowed only for work reasons, health reasons proven by a medical certificate. Citizens have an obligation to respect the safety distance of one meter from each other in a row at supermarkets or in public spaces. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)
Paople walk across a deserted Piazza Navona in central Rome on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)
A deserted Piazza di Fontanella Borghese is pictured in central Rome on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
A man walks past closed restaurants on Piazza Navona in Rome on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)
A closed cafe is pictured on Piazza Navona in Rome on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)
A closed restaurant and wine bar is pictured on Piazza Navona in Rome on March 12, 2020, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)

By Mark DuFrene | mdufrene@bayareanewsgroup.com

PUBLISHED: March 12, 2020 at 11:04 a.m. | UPDATED: March 12, 2020 at 12:49 p.m.

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Normally bustling with tourists and locals, the Italian government’s lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has turned Rome into a decidedly different city.

The city’s famous streets are devoid of traffic and ancient tourist sites are deserted. Anyone walking through the city is told to go home unless they can prove to police that they have business there. Cafes and wine bars are shut down.

Italy has nearly 12,500 cases of coronavirus and 827 deaths, and it has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced restrictions on Europeans from 26 nations traveling to the United States. According to the Associated Press, “the monthlong restriction on travel would begin late Friday, at midnight. After days of playing down the coronavirus threat, he blamed Europe for not acting quickly enough to address the ‘foreign virus’ and claimed that U.S. clusters were ‘seeded’ by European travelers.”