To worry for Chinese business owners at the moment.

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After a couple of my friends are refusing to order their normal take aways.

I'd like to know the % of people who will be thinking twice about eating in Chinese restaurants or visiting Chinese supermarkets or China Town etc.

How do you feel about such things at the moment?

I'm a small business owner and the impact of attitudes like this could really hurt small business like take-aways and restaurants.

But on the flip side I'm not sure if I'm going to be rushing to our local Chinese bakery at the moment either. Which makes me feel bad.

I had Chinese food today...and have parcels arriving tomorrow. ... I think they are being a bit out at this stage

OP, is it possible that your friends were making a stupid joke? I am not excusing their behaviour, far from it, but I remember back in 2003 when SARS was in the news, and I had horrible racist jokes about whether I had it because of my ethnicity.

Wow do people seriously think like this? surely there are a huge amount people of non Chinese origin travelling back and forward from China on business/pleasure? How awful for the huge Chinese/Asian community in UK. Sometimes I feel people are looking for any excuse to alienate different sections of the community it's all quite sad really.

Sitting eating a Chinese takeaway.

Didn’t occur to me to avoid it

Oh jeez. I’ve read of people not ordering from eBay incase they get infected parcels....

Being ethnically Chinese in the U.K. won’t give you the virus 😂😂😂😂

Oh they aren't at all meaning because the owners are ethically Chinese. Just because they may have been in China over school holidays etc.

And yes. One has cancelled an eBay order too!

*ethnically

My neighbours get a Chinese takeaway every Saturday. They didn't last night in case any of the staff have been to Wutan recently.

I think it's daft but I bet it'll have an impact over the coming weeks/months if people think like this v

Sometimes I feel people are looking for any excuse to alienate different sections of the community it's all quite sad really

Absolutely this.

You think that’s ridiculous the Queensland (Australia) health is being at the moment.

If it is confusing, they are pretty much telling us to avoid suburbs with a higher Chinese population even though we don’t have any cases of corona virus in Queensland...

It’s batty unless they know something the rest of us don’t...

Our good local restaurant is closed for over a month as they’re home for new year.. not a clue where in China they go.. but I just hope they’re ok, they went about a fortnight ago and obviously we won’t hear anything or know anything till they get back or don’t come back on the date they say they will.

@Lunafortheloveogod batty? Pun intended?

@Queenoftheashes ah bugger no! .. I feel sorry for the bats. I hadn’t followed it all enough to hear what critter got the blame this time.

Not just my MIL then! She was panicking yesterday as DH was telling her we’d ordered a Chinese takeaway

Can’t say I’d even thought about it until you mentioned it

No. I'd not thought about it until my friends did.

So was hoping the thread would go this way and show they're in the minority.

Thick and also kinda racist.

I was in my local Chinese take away yesterday night and the woman behind the desk was commenting on how quiet they had been.

My DD and her friend went out today, the friend refused to go to a Chinese buffet and they went to Harvester instead. The same friend said she wouldn't order anything from Wish any more.

There are some ridiculous people out there and I do think small businesses might suffer.

Is this really a thing?!

No logic at all, according to a quick Google search this time in 2018 155 people died from bog standard flu in the UK in a single week. This was a particularly high figure so therefore newsworthy but surely puts things into context?

Your friends will probably die of stupidity before Corona.....

It sounds like a pathetic excuse for racism tbh.

TBH as a half taiwanese myself I find it perfectly sensible reaction to an extend. My DM is the same opinion so this time when I am visting from germany she told me unfortunately not being able to cook me some meals I enjoy because she does not want to go to the Chinese supermarket. We are also avoiding the Chinese restaurant near her. We usually love going but we don't know where the food came from, who cooked it, if they have been to effected areas , had family visit etc. I had to fly today and was super cautious wearing a face mask, brining my own water bottle and regularly sanatizing my hands (once past security and I know there would be more people, once before filling my water bottle, once again once on the plane, then again before eating and again after eating, getting off the plane, and same during the transfer flight). I have also avoided ordering anything from china. Yes I know the chances of the person having is slim but still you never know, yes I know anyone can get it but chances of a Chinese person having been in contact with this virus unless I know them and know 1000% for sure is higher). It's just sensible precautions and even sensible chinese people are avoiding these places from the people in the community that I know

Lol, it crossed my mind briefly as I ordered from my local Chinese last night xD.

But I figure, in the miniscule chance i catch this rare disease: the flu kills loads of people but mostly elderly and young kids, this thing is likely the same.

There have been a few people on MN this week casually mentioning that they're avoiding having chinese takeaways.