Business might be down by almost a third, but taxi driver Harry Ng, 61, is taking it in his stride.

The ComfortDelGro cabby, who has been driving for more than 25 years, said that while he has been making 30 per cent less since Singapore moved its disease outbreak response to orange on Feb 7, things are still not as bad as during the Sars period.

"During that time, there was no one taking cabs at all. You could see the roads almost empty, and there were so many cabs waiting for customers that would not come," he told The Straits Times, referring to the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003.

"Our business as taxi drivers was hit much worse then."

But even if the coronavirus situation seems less dire than Sars, Mr Ng is not taking any chances and is doing all he can to assure passengers that his cab is safe.

During his daily 10-hour shifts, he now makes at least three stops to wipe down his car with disinfectant, once every few hours. He has been doing this for about a month, where previously he used to do this only once a day.

Mr Ng said he makes sure to clean every part of his cab that might come into contact with his passengers, including the door handles, the seats and the hand grips.

He added: "As a cab driver providing a service, we have to think of our passengers. They also have families and loved ones. What if they get it from my car? I have to do what I can to keep it safe."

In the past few weeks, there have been three cases of taxi drivers and private-hire drivers who were infected by the coronavirus. All had no recent travel history to China.

When asked if his own family members were worried about him getting sick by being exposed to passengers, Mr Ng laughed and said that while they were initially concerned, his hygiene efforts have soothed their worries.

He lives with his daughter and wife, and helps to take care of their three-year-old granddaughter.

As soon as he goes home, Mr Ng takes a shower, and washes his hands as often as he can. He has also been taking more vitamin C.

But as careful as he is, Mr Ng said that it is important to be compassionate to others too.

He said he has heard chatter among fellow cabbies at coffee shops about how some of them have been avoiding hospitals and picking up medical professionals, a practice which he disapproves of.

He said such workers should, on the contrary, get all the rest they can get for the long hours they put in, and not have to spend more time taking public transport.

"These people are working so hard for us and they deserve to get as much rest as they can. For me, it's no problem and I will just take them and get them where they need to go," he said.

"Besides, they are probably safer than many other passengers because they take extra steps to keep themselves virus-free in their work."