Coronavirus: Deserted restaurants in Delhi, commuters avoiding public transport

The coronavirus outbreak in Delhi has alarmed the residents of the city with many choosing to maintain minimal physical contact in public places, avoiding use of public transport as much as possible, and deserted restaurants painting a gloomy picture.

From plush Connaught Place to Karol Bagh market, both otherwise bustling with crowds on Tuesday, wore a sparse look, with shopowners waiting for customers and parking lots having less cars than usual.

Suresh Kumar, 45, an auto-rickshaw driver, said, he has never seen Delhi like this before.

"Such gloomy feel to the city. I have been driving an auto-rickshaw since mid-90s here, but I have never seen CP like this. It is always so full of life, people jostling to hire an auto, but since morning i have had just three riders. It doesn't feel good," he told PTI.

Kumar says, the coronavirus epidemic has not just destroyed the health of people, its aftermath has "scared people to the core".

A businessman, who has a shop in Connaught Place, on the condition of anonymity, said, "I have stopped using phone and other objets of people, and politely tell them no. It is for my safety, though it may sound rude."