The Covid-19 outbreak has put a sudden halt to many economies in the world overnight, and trade-and-tourists-reliant Singapore has been hit.

The extent of the slowdown can be understood by looking at a myriad of indicators, from hard economic numbers trickling in with each passing day, to blatant warnings by economists that Singapore is entering a recession in 2020.

Taxi driver in Singapore cannot find passengers

To give a glimpse of just how critical things have become on the ground, a taxi driver -- the ultimate man on the street -- has shot a three-minute compilation video from his vehicle, chronicling just how empty the entire Central Business District in Singapore has become overnight on a weekday.

The taxi driver appeared to be on his chat app with a fellow driver, and was shooting the scenes to be sent over to the recipient.

The constant refrain in the taxi driver's commentary in dialect was to repeat, "Bo lang", which means, "No one around".

According to what he said, the office buildings were devoid of workers on a weekday morning.

His tour of the CBD included areas such as, Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1 and 2, Marina One Show Gallery, Robinson Road, Hitachi Tower, Battery Road, Raffles Place, Chinatown, Tanjong Pagar, Cecil Street, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer, The Ritz Carlton, Millenia Singapore, and even Suntec City.

Help rendered for taxi drivers this Covid-19 outbreak

The bleak prospects of being a taxi driver has been addressed by the government.

This was after some taxi drivers having reported seeing their incomes drop by as much as 30 per cent, following reduced demand due to the coronavirus outbreak.

About 40,000 eligible drivers will receive up to S$20 per vehicle per day for three months to offset costs.

Of this, the government will contribute S$10 per vehicle per day, with the remainder coming from contributing taxi and private-hire car operators.

Eligible taxi hirers will automatically receive the relief through their taxi operators, which started on Feb. 14, 2020, with no need for applications.

The S$77 million support package to help taxi and private-hire car operators affected by the Covid-19 outbreak was announced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Ministry of Transport (MOT) on Feb. 13.

On top of this measure, SMRT and ComfortDelGro are offering their taxi drivers, faced with declining ridership and demand in the Covid-19 outbreak, an alternative job — as bus captains.