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Decline of Singapore’s Famed Shopping Strip Shows City’s Pain
- Orchard Road has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic
- Lockdown, travel curbs have plunged city into deep recession
A walk down Orchard Road shows just how badly the coronavirus pandemic has hit Singapore’s famed shopping strip.
Gone are popular restaurants like Modesto’s, which shut last month after 23 years. Also missing are the queues of Chinese tourists outside Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Malls along the 2.4 kilometer (1.5 mile) stretch, once one of Asia’s top shopping meccas, are dotted with empty stores. On a recent midweek afternoon, the number of shop staff idly dusting shelves or playing with their mobile phones rather than greeting customers is notable.