The start of the weekend among the bars and clubs of Manhattan’s Lower East Side looked — and felt — more as if the end of one. Empty cabs rolled down darkened streets, past lonely food carts plopped on sidewalks where few pedestrians scurried by. Some venues closed, while others worried they might be next.

“The vibe is feeling like getting your last social interaction in before the inevitable lack of interaction,” said Leah Dixon, a co-owner of Beverly’s, a small cocktail bar on Essex Street.

Then on Sunday night, Mayor Bill de Blasio, facing mounting pressure, announced a sweeping shutdown of tens of thousands of bars, restaurants, nightclubs and music venues in an effort to suppress the spread of the coronavirus.