BEIJING (REUTERS) - It's the eve of Valentine's Day and flower seller Cai Xiaoman is enclosing a special gift - a small bottle of hand sanitiser to ward off coronavirus - as she sends out her last few bouquets to customers in Beijing.

It has been a tough month for her. Sales are down 90 per cent in the midst of an outbreak that has so far killed nearly 1,400 people in China.

People are staying at home, leaving shopping malls empty.

Wearing a face mask, Cai carefully sprays her hands with alcohol and puts on a pair of gloves before packaging her flowers.

She then puts hand sanitiser into the bouquets she creates.

She says she was inspired by a customer who asked her to sanitise a bouquet before she delivered it.

She is now giving sanitiser to other customers as a personal gesture.

"I think this is very heart-warming, and I want my customers to feel comfortable," she says.

"Because now the outbreak is severe, and everyone is scared. I hope this will end soon."