AN EERIE QUIETNESS TAKES HOLD IN HUB

City slows down to a crawl

Not a soul was in sight in the usually high-trafficked area around Government Center and Faneuil Hall on Monday, where local business owners said they’re feeling the pinch as social distancing becomes the new normal.

Avery Perry, owner of Law of Pasta inside Boston Public Market, commiserated with Matt Marcella of Beantown Pastrami.

“Business has literally come to halt,” Perry said. “It’s at a standstill.”

Their booths should have been teeming with people during the lunch rush, but the market was desolate.

The market and the restaurants inside plan to remain open under limited hours as the governor’s ban on dining restaurants takes effect on Tuesday. Restaurants are still permitted to offer takeout and delivery.

“We’ll still be here, but this will put a damper on business heading into the busy season,” Marcella said.

A busker playing a solemn guitar tune perched in front of a vacant Quincy Market, while bundled-up passersby on the streets and on the T kept their distance. An eerie quiet hovered from the Seaport to Government Center, where traffic was light.

Downtown storefronts were dark, and restaurants shut down well ahead of Baker’s order, some offering chalkboard-message compromises of delivery and takeout-only service.

Katrina Totten, 29, and her friends took photographs near Faneuil Hall Monday afternoon, trying to make the best of Totten’s birthday road trip from Pennsylvania after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade was canceled.

“It’s Boston’s heart and soul this time of year, so I also feel bad for the people that live here and look forward to it year-round,” Totten said.

Totten’s group had booked a dinner reservation at City Tap in the Seaport Monday night, ahead of Mayor Martin Walsh’s call to close restaurants at 11 p.m., and Baker’s call to close all restaurants today — and they intended to enjoy their dinner. The three women said they don’t fear the coronavirus, even though they assume they — and all of us — are going to get it.

NANCY LANE / HERALD STAFF NO PLAYGROUND TODAY: A child scoots past the Billy Ward Playground, which was locked up after the town of Brookline closed playgrounds due to the threat of the coronavirus on Monday.

ANGELA ROWLINGS / HERALD STAFF GHOST TOWN: A cafe patio in Post Office Square, usually a bustling scene, is empty on Monday.

NANCY LANE / BOSTON HERALD NO FUN — UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: A sign declares the closure of Longwood Playground in Brookline on Monday.

NANCYLANE/HERALDSTAFF GHOST TOWN: Most cars and platforms were virtually empty on the Red Line on Monday in Cambridge.

NANCYLANE/HERALDSTAFF ROOM TO SPARE: Empty seats are the new normal on the MBTA’s Red Line.

NANCYLANE/HERALDSTAFF EASY PASSAGE: The Alewife MBTA station saw few passengers on Monday in Cambridge on a throroughfare that typically would be crowded.

NANCYLANE/HERALDSTAFF NO DISTRACTIONS: A row of empty seats lead up to a rider on the Red Line in Cambrige on Monday.