Sweeping leaves and trash off a deserted street and dumping them into her rusted wheelbarrow, Raj Kumari said the silence of the normal cacophony of Delhi was glorious, but eerie.

She used to sweep Delhi’s streets with her husband, but he died eight years ago. She is now the sole breadwinner for her six children, after her eldest son was laid off from his tech job this past week because of the lockdown.

“It’s just me and the sewer cleaners out here now,” she said.

The lockdown has affected public transportation, and she now walks two hours just to get to work.

“This is what I have to do for money, for life,” she said. “Even if the streets are empty, I have to come out. I don’t have the pleasure of staying at home, this is my duty.”

The government has never provided Ms. Kumari, who does not know her exact age, with gloves or masks for her job. But one of her daughters forbade her from working without protective gear during the pandemic and gave her a mask that her school had donated to students to protect against Delhi’s infamous pollution.

“I’m not afraid of corona,” Ms. Kumari said. “Why would anyone fear death when it is time for God to take you?”