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Our new reality now that coronavirus has sent the world online

Weddings, funerals, nightclubs, classes, church services, senate votes. COVID-19 has made almost everything virtual.

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
schoolonline
1 of 15 Natalia Fedosenko\TASS via Getty Images

Attending school

As people around the world stay home to prevent the spread of coronavirus, activities from school to work meetings, socializing, exercising, praying, lifecycle events and more are now taking place online. Click through our gallery for international scenes of a world gone online (way more than usual). 

Here, teacher Yekaterina Metelskaya leads an online lesson for first-graders in Minsk, Belarus, on March 24. 

churchonline
2 of 15 Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images

Going to church

Parish vicar Patrick Staub conducts a service at an empty Catholic church in Winterbach, Germany, on March 22. Due to the spread of the coronavirus, worshippers can't attend church in person, but they can watch services streamed on YouTube. 

funerals
3 of 15 Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images

Going to funerals

Because the Austrian government has temporarily banned all gatherings of more than five people as a measure to slow the spread of coronavirus, undertakers are offering livestreamed services for means for mourners. Here, on March 24, employees of Bestattung Himmelblau in Vienna rehearse livestreaming of an upcoming funeral. 

wedding
4 of 15 Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Moving ahead with weddings

A groomsman in Hong Kong livestreams a wedding ceremony on March 29. Hong Kong has imposed new social distancing measures that limit public gatherings to four people, with some exceptions. 

arraignment
5 of 15 Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Holding court proceedings

Deputy District Attorney Steven Gates, right, represents the people during a video arraignment in Los Angeles Superior Court on April. On. the monitor, public defender David Foley (upper left) appears via video with his client. 

onlineparty
6 of 15 Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

Keeping nightlife going

Legendary event producer Susanne Bartsch hosts an online club via Zoom on April 16 in New York City. 

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7 of 15 Andressa Anholete/Getty Images

Voting

Brazilian senators vote remotely on March 20 on the decision to declare a state of calamity during the coronavirus outbreak. The vote marked the first time in 196 years of existence that the Senate used the remote system. Davi Alcolumbre, president of the Brazilian Senate, recently tested positive for the coronavirus. 

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8 of 15 STR/AFP via Getty Images

Visiting inmates

An inmate at a prison in Blitar, Indonesia, chats with family members via smartphone video chat on March 17. Visits were temporarily halted due to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

onlinechorus
9 of 15 Santiago Mejia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Practicing music

Eric Choate, artistic director of the San Francisco Boys Chorus, leads an online rehearsal of Gabriel Fauré's Requiem from his home on March 18.

onlinemosque
10 of 15 Mikhail Tereshchenko\TASS via Getty Images

Praying at the mosque

A March 20 live broadcast of Friday prayers at the Moscow Cathedral Mosque amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. 

thaicongressonline
11 of 15 STR/AFP via Getty Images

Keeping governments in session

A huge video screen shows members of the Lower House of Congress in the Philippines participating in a special session via video conference on March 23. At the session, they discussed a proposed emergency power to be given to President Rodrigo Duterte to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak. On March 16, Duterte ordered about half the country's population to stay home for the next month in a drastic bid to curb the rising number of new coronavirus cases. 

gymonline
12 of 15 Jonas Walzberg/picture alliance via Getty Images

Leading gym classes

A smartphone films a trainer in action at a gym in Hamburg, Germany. It's offering online classes while it's closed due to the coronavirus crisis.

onlinereading
13 of 15 Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Reading to students

Jennifer Buller, principal of Boston's K-8 Coolidge Corner School, reads a nightly bedtime story to her students via video conference on March 19. The sessions have been packed as the school seeks ways to alleviate the social isolation many are feeling as the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis deepens. Buller allows a little time before and after the story so students can see their friends and say hi. 

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14 of 15 Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Teaching from the field

A science teacher livestreams from the field to her students in Hangzhou, China on March 16 more than two months after the COVID-19 outbreak.

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15 of 15 Diego Puletto/Getty Images

Working from home

A man in Turin, Italy, works from home on March 23 as the nationwide lockdown in the country continues. Video conferencing is quickly becoming standard practice for employees around the globe. 

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