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Uplifting scenes of coronavirus solidarity around the world

National landmarks light up, citizens serenade medical workers from balconies and rooftops. See how people everywhere are boosting each other's spirits in these dark times.

Leslie Katz
Leslie Katz led a team that explored the intersection of tech and culture, plus all manner of awe-inspiring science, from space to AI and archaeology. When she's not smithing words, she's probably playing online word games, tending to her garden or referring to herself in the third person.
Leslie Katz
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1 of 31 Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images

Across the US, buildings go blue

The coronavirus pandemic can feel frightening and overwhelming. But amid nonstop headlines about rising rates of infections and deaths; quarantines; and economic hardship, it's easy to find heartening scenes of solidarity, friendship and gratitude on scales both large and small. Here are just some of them. 

Here, The top of the Blue Shield of California building in Oakland, California, lights up on April 10 as part of the "Light it Blue" campaign. Hundreds of structures across the US were illuminated with blue lights in solidarity with those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

This gallery was first published on March 28 and will be updated with new scenes of solidarity. 

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2 of 31 Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images

Gratitude blooms in London

Outside London's University College Hospital on April 23, NHS nurses help unveil a rainbow floral display to thank the public for their support during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

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3 of 31 Ramon Costa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Special masks for the hearing-impaired

A volunteer wears a transparent face mask handmade for people with hearing-impaired relatives who communicate by reading lips. A group of women in Spain created the "Fils amb Cor" (sewing with the heart) initiative to make these and other protective face masks. 

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4 of 31 Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

Free movie showings in Spain

An Amazon Prime Video truck with a giant screen projects the movie Modern Love in Madrid on April 14 as part of the Cine de Balcon (Balcony Cinema) project.

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5 of 31 Narayan Maharjan/NurPhoto via Getty Images

National anthem in Nepal

Nepalese traffic police in Kathmandu sing the national anthem on April 13 in solidarity with medical and security personnel, cleaners and everyone else who's compromising their own health to save lives amid the pandemic. The country's prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, suggested the anthem as a sign of public support.   

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6 of 31 Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Polish nuns sew face masks

Nuns from the religious order Sisters of the Canon of the Holy Spirit sew protective face masks inside their convent in Krakow, Poland, on April 7. Every day, the nuns open their convent window, called "Gwidon's Window" after the founder of the order, to deliver supplies to the poor. 

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7 of 31 Ramon Costa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Mickey and Minnie bring cheer in Spain

In Vendrell, Spain, volunteers dressed as Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse wave to residents on April 10 as they tour the streets cheering up homebound children. 

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8 of 31 Getty Images

Iran shows international support

The Azadi (Freedom) Tower in Tehran, Iran, lights up on March 31 with flags and messages of hope in solidarity with all countries affected by the pandemic. 

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9 of 31 Anthony Souffle/Getty Images

Thank you via free flowers

Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis used carts on March 31 to deliver some of the 1,500 flowering spring plants donated by Bachman's Floral, Home & Garden in appreciation of health care workers' efforts. 

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10 of 31 Oliver Dietze/Getty Images

A rainbow in Germany

Together with his mother Monika Kabus, young Tom paints a rainbow on the window of the family's apartment in Saarbrücken, Germany, on March 25. In the Rodenhof neighborhood of the city, families have hung rainbows painted by their kids as symbols of positivity amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

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11 of 31 Leslie Katz/CNET

And another rainbow in San Francisco...

Messages of cheer are popping up everywhere. 

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12 of 31 Khaled Desouki/Getty Images

Great Pyramid sends a message

A laser projection on the Great pyramid of Kheops at the Giza plateau outside of Cairo reads "Stay at home, stay safe. Thanks to those keeping us safe" on March 30. 

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13 of 31 Rana Sajid Hussain/Getty Images

Appreciation for medical workers in Pakistan

In Lahore, Pakistan, on March 27, people hoist white flags from their rooftops to express admiration for the city's doctors and paramedics working on the front lines of the pandemic. 

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14 of 31 Simona Granati/Getty Images

Free toys in Rome

A man drops off goods at a collection point for toys and basic necessities on the steps of a primary school in Rome on April 2. A sign in various languages says "Chi ha metta, chi non ha prenda." (Give as you can, take as you need)

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15 of 31 Joseph Okpako/Getty Images

London Eye lights up in thanks

The London Eye, Europe's tallest ferris wheel, lights up blue on March 26 as a show of appreciation and support for NHS staff. That evening at 8 p.m. local time, as part of the "Clap For Our Carers" campaign, people across the UK took part in a nationwide round of applause from their windows, doors, balconies and gardens to thank health care workers.

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16 of 31 Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images

Hope lights up in Switzerland

A picture taken from the Swiss alpine resort of Zermatt shows the iconic Matterhorn mountain illuminated with a message from Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter "as a sign of hope and solidarity" during the coronavirus pandemic. Hofstetter transforms buildings, monuments and landscapes all over the world into temporary works of art. Zermatt is broadcasting this message live by webcam through April 19, the deadline for action against the coronavirus in Switzerland. 

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17 of 31 Mustafa Unal Uysal/Getty Images

Private concert in Turkey

In Mersin, Turkey, on March 25, an engineering student plays guitar for an elderly couple standing on the balcony of their house. 

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18 of 31 Olga Smolskaya\Getty Images

Russia stands by Italy

Candles in the shape of the Italian flag light up the night outside a block of flats in Beslan, Russia, on March 28. Alongside them, a message of solidarity for Italy as it struggles against COVID-19: "Italia, siamo con te!" (Italy, we stand by you!)

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19 of 31 Beata Zawrzel/Getty Images

Poland shows support for France

On March 26, the Kladka Bernatka footbridge in Krakow, Poland, lit up with colors of the French flag in solidarity with coronavirus victims in France. 

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20 of 31 Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images

In Italy, love for medical workers

A mural dedicated to Italian medical workers depicts a nurse cradling the hard-hit country and reads "To All Of You... Thank You!"  It hangs on a hospital wall in Bergamo, near Milan. 

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21 of 31 Sebastien Bozon/Getty Images

Music for medical workers in France

Mulhouse Symphonic Orchestra violinist Jessy Koch performs on her balcony each day to support health workers in Mulhouse in eastern France. Here she is on March 28, the 11th day of a strict nationwide confinement. 

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22 of 31 David Ramos/Getty Images

Mutual appreciation in Barcelona

Citizens in Barcelona held a flash mob from their balconies on March 26 to applaud health care workers treating COVID-19 patients. The medical workers applauded right back in return. 

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23 of 31 CNET

Free waves in Northern California

In Orinda, California, three girls share good will during the San Francisco Bay Area lockdown. 

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24 of 31 Muhammad Haj Kadour/Getty Images

Well-wishing mural in Syria

In the Syrian town of Binnish on March 24, artist Aziz al-Asmar paints a mural wishing German Chancellor Angela Merkel well. She is in quarantine after being treated by a doctor who tested positive for coronavirus. 

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25 of 31 John Nacion/Getty Images

In New York, a big thank you

A medical worker walks past a thank you sign in front of New York's Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens on March 27. 

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26 of 31 Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images

A bell rings in Switzerland

Renato Haeusler, night watchman at Switzerland's Cathedral of Lausanne, manually rings "La Clemence" emergency bell in the belfry tower on March 27. He will ring the bell every night at 10 p.m to encourage people to show solidarity and help one another in challenging times. 

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27 of 31 Rich Graessle/Getty Images

Sign of encouragement in New Jersey

A sign in the window of Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, on March 28 reads "stay positive," alongside a heart. 

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28 of 31 Natalie Weinstein/CNET

Little messages of hope in Texas

Someone is leaving uplifting messages along a tree-lined path in Austin, Texas.

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29 of 31 Massimo Cavallari/Getty Images

National pride in Italy

The Piazza Maggiore in the center of Bologna, Italy, lights up with the colors of the country's flag on March 27. 

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30 of 31 Pierre Suu/Getty Images

Paris expresses gratitude

A banner hanging from a Paris balcony on March 26 reads: "Thank you to all the medical personnel."  

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31 of 31 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

A bit of brightness in California

Messages like this one, spotted on a Northern California sidewalk, bring little bits of light during a dark time. 

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