Covid-19 (coronavirus): Asia's darkest hour

Commuters observing safe distancing at a bus stop near Admiralty MRT station. As Singapore battles a second surge of Covid-19 cases, many of whom are returning residents or long-term pass holders, bars and other entertainment outlets have been ordered to close until April 30. - The Straits Times/ANN

SINGAPORE: In ordinary times, Singapore's Changi Airport - straddling Asia's crossroads and among the finest of such facilities anywhere - is a humming, throbbing hive of activity. It is to Asia what Dubai is to the Middle East and Africa, or London's Heathrow to Europe. Not now.

Last week, a history buff walking into any of its terminals could be excused for musing this must have been how newly deserted towns in the Sierra Nevada seemed at the end of the California Gold Rush.