Pune/Pimpri Chinchwad: Citizens were seen exercising caution in the wake of COVID-19 scare in the city, while most preferred to remain indoors to avoid crowded places as a precaution on Saturday. Majority of those venturing out used masks.

The closure of schools, colleges, gyms, movie theatres along with it being a holiday for Central and State government offices led to nearly deserted streets in the city.

However, malls remained open, albeit deserted, after clarification came from authorities, although multiplexes in all the malls and single-screen theatres remained closed. Corporation-owned parks, auditoriums and swimmings pools will remain shut till further notice.

Pimpri Chinchwad Science Park in Chinchwad has also been closed till March 31.

No new positive cases were reported in the city on Saturday. The total count of positive cases in Pune, as on Saturday evening was 10, with Maharashtra’s count reaching 26.

Surprisingly, the Pune railway station was bustling with passenger activities with loudspeakers blaring instructions on how to stay safe from coronavirus. The Pune airport in Lohegaon, however, saw very few 
passengers.

President of Pune Restaurants and Hoteliers Association (PRAHA) Ganesh Shetty said that restaurants and cafes across the city are seeing a significant drop in footfall since Friday and they do not expect the situation to change over the weekend. He informed the consumption of non-vegetarian food has also reduced.

He also informed that all restaurants have been told to inform waiters who come in contact with multiple people to take necessary precautions.

Not only restaurants but even the small eateries and street vendors remained quite as citizen chose to remain indoors on the weekend. However, most of the people preferred wearing masks while they remain outdoors.

Vinod Sawant, owner of Ayodhya Snacks in Model Colony which is a popular hangout spot of many college students said that since school and colleges are shut, the footfall at his shop has reduced. Some private coaching institutes were also remained shut on Saturday amidst the coronavirus scare.

The number of PMPML bus commuters on various routes had gone down significantly and the ones who did travel were wearing masks.

Teams of police personnel visited many commercial establishments to ensure implementation of the government order in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.