Chennai: Italy, the nation which has seen the highest number of deaths after China, has been under quarantine for almost a week now and the results are showing. Netizens took to Twitter to share picutre of Italian fauna reclaiming its spaces in the absence of humans.

The swans have returned to the famed canals of Venice, for one thing. Delighted netizens who live by the canals have been posting pictures, bringing cheer to the rest of Italy and the world. Canal Waters have also been cleaned within days. The water used to look grey before but now is clear and pale green in colour. Some Italian Tweeple were exclaiming they could clearly see the fish in the water. The Mayor of Venice reportedly attributed the change to less boat traffic that reduced the amount of sediments brought up.

There have been reports of NO2 in the air dropping, all across Italy. The pollutions levels have come down significantly, and the skies reportedly are clearer. Caligari port area also had reasons to rejoice after groups of dolphins were spotted very close to the harbour. ducks, rabbits, boars - animal sightings have been multiple in Italy.

Though the Chinese netizens are not as active on the mainstream social media, there have been reports of the pollution plume dissipating and the NO2 levels have come down drastically. In a first, the pandemic has succeeded in something humankind had failed miserably in the past couple of decades - bring down the global air pollution level by around 21%.

According to the World Health Organisation, at least 7 million people die every year from exposure to fine particles in polluted air. In this context, if the virus is contained and the mortality rate kept at its minimum best, Corona virus could actually help save lives in the long run.