Notre Dame Cathedral stands crippled and alone, locked in a dangerous web of warped scaffolding one year after a cataclysmic fire gutted its interior, toppled its famous spire and horrified the world.

Some of the 40,000 metal bars — erected for an earlier renovation project — melted in the intense blaze on April 15, 2019. The unstable scaffolding now endangers the Gothic jewel that for many embodies the soul of France.

The restoration of the landmark from the 12th and 13th centuries has been halted and the workers sent home because of France’s coronavirus lockdown that began March 17, thwarting plans to start removing the 250 tons of scaffolding.

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So even Notre Dame has been left in isolation by the pandemic that has affected so many people across France.

The 13-ton bell in the south tower, named Emmanuel, that traditionally rings on solemn occasions will sound at 8 p.m. Wednesday, joining the nightly rounds of applause for overstretched health workers.

Read more: AP