Fewer people at markets, schools amid virus fear
The attendance at schools has dropped a lot in rural areas
After the recent identification of three coronavirus patients in the country, people have become extra cautious about not getting infected.
They have voluntarily restricted their visits to public places and to large gatherings including shopping malls and educational institutions.
Anwar Hossain, a security guard at Bashundhara Shopping Centre is usually very busy and under pressure during duty hours every day. But on Wednesday he was very relaxed because the crown at the market had dropped to half of what it usually is on normal days.
"I work eight hours a day. I cannot take any phone calls when I am on duty because of the pressure of work, the number of vehicles and of buyers and visitors. But today (Wednesday) I have almost nothing to do," Anwar said.
"There are very few cars at the market, and they can move without difficulty. So, I have a lot of idle time now," he said.
The salespeople in the market said that they had very few customers on Wednesday because people are panicking over the coronavirus outbreak.
As in Bashundhara Shopping Centre, there were also very few customers at other markets in the capital, including New Market, Aziz Super Market and Gausul Azam market.
Sajedur Rahman, manager of Al Haramain Perfume at Bashundhara Shopping Centre, told The Business Standard, "There are very few customers. People are very aware about coronavirus, so they don't come to the market unless there is an emergency."
"A customer was scheduled to come to my shop today. But he deferred the visit in the morning fearing coronavirus," Sajedur said.
Md Mahbub Alam, manager of Indian Spicy Masala on the 8th floor of the market, told this correspondent that his sales are usually Tk60,000 on average per day. But in last few days it has dropped to Tk15-20 thousand.
"After shopping around, customers come to our restaurants to have a leisurely time. But after three coronavirus identifications and many in quarantine, the number of customers is decreasing. They just want to avoid gatherings," he said.
Bahalul Ahmed Fahim, managing director of BJ Point at Aziz Super Cooperative Market, told this correspondent that his sales had dropped to almost half over fear of coronavirus.
"After winter, our sales usually pick up from March. We have a large range of products including T-shirts, polo-shirts and regular shirts. But we are worried about our business in this season," he said.
Parents and students are worried about the potential spread of coronavirus across the country, so attendance at schools has dropped a lot in rural areas.
School attendance in the capital is not as low as in rural areas, but parents are still afraid.
A head teacher of a school in the capital, seeking anonymity, told The Business Standard that his school has about 500 hundred students, and at least 400 of them attend every day. But attendance has dropped to less than 200 in the last few days, he added.
Shah Alam, a parent, said, "My daughter studies in Viqarunnisa Noon School and College. I will not send my daughter to school because there are about 60 students in her class. So, the possibility of getting infected with coronavirus is higher at school."
Dr Shahan Ara Begum, principal of Motijheel Ideal School and College, told The Business Standard that they gave masks to the students and asked to follow the directions given by the government.
"We will shut down the institution if the ministry orders us to do so," she said.
