The Week in Pictures: Lonely roads and the push to reopen

The hospital ship USNS Comfort departs for its homeport of Norfolk, Va. on April 30, 2020. The Comfort's 1,000 beds and 12 operation rooms were deployed to ease pressure on New York hospitals amid the coronavirus pandemic.

NYPD officers salute as the ship leaves Pier 90 on April 30.

Police block protesters trying to enter the chamber of the Michigan House of Representative where lawmakers were debating an extension of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's state of emergency on April 30 in Lansing.

Michigan United for Liberty organized the protest, dubbed the American Patriot Rally, to call for the reopening of businesses.

A motorcyclist drives on an empty street as the sun sets in downtown Topeka on April 28. Kansas has extended stay-at-home orders until May 3.

A resident gets a nose swab test in Bangkok on April 28.

A worker disinfects the roof terrace of the Atlantic hotel in Rome on April 29. After seven weeks in lockdown, Italians are regaining some freedoms. Starting on May 4, public parks and gardens will re-open and people will be able to visit relatives who live in the same region.

Commuters travel on a bus with seats marked off to maintain social distancing in Oaxaca on April 29.

Hasidic Jewish community members gather for a funeral procession in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on April 28.

Mayor Bill de Blasio sent police to disperse the massive crowd that had gathered for a rabbi's funeral in defiance of a statewide shutdown over the coronavirus.

A funeral home worker transports a body to a funeral home in Harlem on April 24.

An Alexandra township resident gets tested for COVID-19 in Johannesburg on April 29. South Africa will begin a phased easing of its strict lockdown measures on May 1, although confirmed cases of coronavirus continue to increase.

Medical workers applaud as 100 year-old patient Julia Dewilde leaves the Bois de l'Abbaye hospital in Seraing, Belgium, after recovering from COVID-19 on April 29.

A passenger reads a book on the Staten Island Ferry as it passes the Statue of Liberty on April 27.

Inmates are lined up during a security operation at the Izalco prison in San Salvador on April 25. Authorities crammed the prisoners tightly together in prison yards while searching their cells.

El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, ordered the crackdown after more than 20 people were murdered in the country Friday and intelligence suggested the orders came from imprisoned gang leaders.

Inmates burn mattresses during a riot demanding measures to protect against the spread of the coronavirus at Villa Devoto prison in Buenos Aires on April 24.

A surfer walks towards the ocean through a designated walkway at Bondi beach in Sydney on April 28. Waverley Council reopened Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches with COVID-19 social distancing rules still in place.

A bride-to-be waits to change out of her dress after taking pictures ahead of her wedding near Beijing's Forbidden City on April 30. Beijing lowered its risk level after more than three months Thursday in advance of May holidays, allowing most domestic travelers arriving in the city to do so without having to do 14 days of quarantine. The Forbidden City re-opened to a limited number of visitors as of Thursday morning.

Lillian P. Hammond is comforted by her sister-in-law, Lori Adams, during her husband's funeral in New Orleans on April 22.

Gala, 7, speaks with Oliver, 6, over a courtyard wall in Barcelona on April 29.

Thousands of beachgoers enjoy a warm, sunny day amid state-mandated stay-at-home and social distancing measures in Huntington Beach on April 25.

Gov. Gavin Newsom will order all beaches and state parks closed starting Friday after people thronged the seashore during a sweltering weekend despite his social distancing order, according to a memo sent to police chiefs around the state.

Vice President Mike Pence visits Dennis Nelson, a recovered COVID-19 patient who is donating his blood for research, at Mayo Clinic in Rochester on April 28.

Pence's visit sparked criticism for his failure to wear a mask, ignoring the prestigious Minnesota hospital's rules. 

Two days later, Pence wore a mask during a visit to a General Motors plant. 

Martha Licoppe, 92, looks at her children Chantal and Christian, from her room window at Le Cinquantenaire Orpea nursing home in Brussels on April 27.

Mandy Alison poses with a selection of over 125,000 birthday cards sent to Captain Tom Moore in Bedford, north of London, on April 28. Moore, who turned 100 on Thursday, captured hearts after setting out to raise a thousand pounds for Britain's National Health Service by walking 100 laps of his 82-foot garden, but went on to raise more than $33 million.

Surrounded by police, a man exits a closed beach with his arms raised in Galveston, Texas, on April 26. Police gave chase after the man repeatedly walked onto nearby Seawall Boulevard, disrupting vehicle traffic, bystanders said.

Chippendales emcee Jayson Michael hosts a virtual party from his home in Las Vegas on April 29. The Chippendales launched 30-minute interactive virtual experiences, featuring at least two cast members, hosted on a streaming platform for people under stay-at-home orders.

Kilian, 6, wears a protective face mask as he jumps from a bench following the partial lifting of restrictions for children in Igualada on April 26.

Spanish children of all ages were cooped up inside for six weeks, but some have finally been allowed to play outside as Spain weighs its post-lockdown options.

A boy reads the Koran after morning prayers with his family during the holy month of Ramadan in Cairo on April 26.

A registered nurse from a local emergency room counter-protests in front of demonstrators demanding Minnesota relax lockdown measures on April 25 outside the Governor's Mansion in St. Paul.

A nurse wipes a patient's forehead at Stamford Hospital Intensive Care Unit in Stamford, Conn., on April 24. Roughly half the patients at the hospital have COVID-19.

People gather for a drive-by birthday party for World War II veteran Lt. Colonel Sam Sachs, who turned 105 in Lakewood on April 26. The originally planned birthday celebration inside his retirement home was cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19 but members of the community turned out on foot and in vehicles outside the home to help him celebrate. He also received thousands of cards from well-wishers across the country.

Mary Carmen Arreguin plays with a dog at San Gregorio animal shelter which is promoting pet adoptions in El Ajusco, Mexico, on April 24.

A vendor tends her stall at a food market in Beijing on April 24.

Jessica King sits under a dryer at a salon in Marietta, Ga., during the phased reopening of businesses and restaurants on April 24.

Health care workers watch a flyover by the Navy's Blue Angels and the Air Force's Thunderbirds as a salute to first responders and essential workers in Philadelphia on April 28.

Blue Angels and Thunderbirds demonstration teams fly over Manhattan Bridge in Brooklyn on April 28.

Last week's gallery: Lockdown protests and a visit from a pony