Despite health authorities urging Australians to carry on with their lives as normal after the outbreak of the coronavirus, businesses in Chinese-Australian communities in Melbourne have been feeling the pinch.
More than 600 people have so far died of the new virus - all but two of them in China - and more than 31,000 have been infected worldwide.
“Staffing was an issue, people believed in the rumours and did not want to come to Box Hill. That includes spenders and also staff. So we had to close early on a few days.”Richard Shi, another small business-owner in Box Hill, told SBS News business at his store Sweet Kingdom had also dropped by more than 40 per cent over the last two weeks, which translates into about $1,000 less per day.
There have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Box Hill, but last week the suburb’s biggest annual event, the Lunar New Year Festival, was abruptly cancelled “out of respect for the difficulties currently being experienced by many people.”, as well as false social media campaigns targeting Chinese communities., warning people to stay away from"all populated areas with Chinese nationals of a ratio of one to three non-Chinese Australians".
Federal Liberal and Labor MPs visited Box Hill’s shopping precinct on Friday, sending a partisan message that Australians should support small business owners as the coronavirus outbreak continues.
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