Film theatres were closed and malls witnessed low footfall on Sunday. Several events, including music concerts, in pubs were cancelled.

In an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, the State government on Saturday barred public gatherings, and ordered closure of educational institutions, cinema halls, sports activities and exhibitions.

Aggressive Tendencies, an initiative to promote rock music, scheduled for March 15 in The Moonshine Project, a resto-pub in Filmnagar, was cancelled. The concert was to feature at least three rock bands and its shelving came as a let down for many music lovers.

Those in events and sound engineering business pointed out that while there has been a dip in the number of concerts and performances in the city on account of the coronavirus scare, the government’s instructions have brought revenues to a complete halt.

According to Oswin from Hangar 18, an event and sound rental company, while the directives can have an impact on revenues, he opined that it is better to take precautionary measures now than have regrets later.

“As it is, the number of live gigs went down at least by half in the past fortnight because of the coronavirus scare. The closure of pubs for the next few days has led to cancellation of several events, including that at a well known pub-restaurant in the city. But if this closure continues for, say, 60 days, this could have a massive impact on us,” Mr Oswin said.

While several malls remained open, multiplexes within them remained shut. Case in point is Prasads, which downed shutters of its box office on Sunday. The closure, observers said, is likely to affect revenues of several movies running in cinemas.

Muthyala Ramdoss, vice-president, Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce, said while the closure was certain to affect the industry, several movies are released during festivals such as Sankranthi and Dasara. “This is somewhat of a dry season. There aren’t many films releasing immediately,” he said.

Amusement park Wonderla will remain closed till March 21 on account of the State government’s precautionary directions to deal with the spread of coronavirus.