Charlie Men`s Chinese restaurant in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast serves hot dumplings and noodle soup. He`s still racking his brains. Where are the regulars in the store?
"Normally at peak meal times,40 people come to the store to eat, but yesterday there were only four or five guests," Men told Australasian companies. "
Men says his business has fallen by 80 per cent since the new coronavirus started to explode in China last month." My staff took weeks of sick leave for fear of contracting the virus and I really collapsed. Now I`m on my own. I am the boss, the manager, the cook and the waiter. "
Men points out that business in Chinese restaurants on the Gold Coast has fallen by an average of 50%.
"My business depends mainly on the locals. Can you imagine businesses that rely mainly on Chinese tour groups? They`re in worse shape. A regular at the store euphemistically told me he saw people wearing masks in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra because he was a little worried about coming to the Chinese restaurant for dinner. I was waiting for the Chinese New Year to make some money, and now it`s over. "
Chinese restaurants across Australia are experiencing similar difficulties. Eastwood, Chatwood and Burwood in Sydney and Glen Waverley, Doncaster and Box Hill Chinese restaurants in Melbourne have all been affected.
Zhang Bo (Bo Zhang) is the owner of a hot pot shop in Glen Waverley. The state health department had previously informed him that a man infected with coronavirus had dined at the store on Australia Day.
Authorities said the patient, who had been to Wuhan, Hubei, began to show symptoms two days after returning to Australia.
"I`m worried about people and employees getting the virus, so I shut down the restaurant for the time being and we`re fine so far. But lately I`ve been under a lot of pressure on economics, including the mortgage, the rent and the payroll."
Zhang, who has been at home for nearly two weeks, hopes to reopen the restaurant after the incubation period.
Meanwhile, a box hill restaurateur who doesn`t want to be named said she lost $4000 last week after paying store rent, electricity, staff costs and other operating costs.
"The store`s business has been dismal lately, and because of the coronavirus, everyone is afraid to eat in restaurants. "So why are people so worried about eating in these places? Is this overreaction? Is eating in a Chinese restaurant still safe? Several Box Hill restaurants have temporarily closed stores or shortened business hours to cut costs as customers have fallen sharply.
However, medical experts point out that the risk of contracting the virus is low, as confirmed cases in Australia are currently being treated in isolation or have recovered and discharged.
Sharon Lewin, director of Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, says that so far, every patient diagnosed has been to Wuhan or Hubei province in the near future. "China is now in the stage of a large number of cases of human transmission, so the number of cases in China is much larger than in other countries. We haven`t had a case of a human being yet, so I`m completely unconcerned about eating a delicious meal of Chinese food in Box Hill. "
Dominic Dwyer, a medical virologist at Sydney`s Westmead Hospital and a professor at the University of Sydney, also points out that people usually sit next to friends and family at restaurants and are at risk of infection if family and friends are ill. "Usually, it`s within a meter or two of an infected patient that it`s possible to get infected," the professor said. It makes no sense to believe that the infection may be contagious when the community is not yet infected. "But reports of a 14-day incubation period for the virus deepened anxiety in the Chinese community.
Dwyer said that while the virus may have a incubation period of up to two weeks, it is generally within five to six days. "These patients don`t cough, don`t sneeze, they don`t have a runny nose, so they don`t transmit the infection. There is talk of spreading the virus when there are no symptoms, but this is controversial and is not the case for most respiratory infections. So if you don`t have symptoms, your chances of living in the community and infecting others are very low. "
Despite Australia`s high levels of precautionary measures, including banning Chinese entry or advising Australians not to visit China, the Chinese community remains in a high climate of tension. They will avoid going where there are many Chinese.
