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.

@lovepickledlimes honestly, unless you are particularly immunosuppressed or otherwise vulnerable this is a massive overreaction

@Oldishusernewname both me and my mum have a very shit immune system not once have I traveled without getting at least a cold as I seem to pick up everything. Also know it is even worse then normal as me coming off the pill is messing with my body and I know it is low at the moment as I just got a cold sore two weeks ago which usually happens when I am stressed and my immune system is weaker then usual

Annually, flu viruses contribute to up to 640,000 deaths worldwide. Vulnerable people dying from respiratory viruses is already a thing. A big thing. The newest coronavirus makes great dramatic headlines but it's hardly end times. Seriously, chill

Already been coughing all night and can feel I hope is another cold rather then full on chest infection coming as the last one took me 2 months to fully recover from.

These are Chinese people LIVING HERE. WHERE YOU ALSO LIVE.

I mean, really.

Unless you're about to run screaming from Bob in Sales who spends half the month in airports, avoiding the UK resident ffs Chinese takeaway is barking mad.

And racist.

I don’t think @lovepickledlimes is particularly over reacting - airplanes are dirty and with air travel the way it is nowhere is that far away.

Avoiding Chinese restaurants is daft - there’s no evidence yet that the virus can survive on inanimate objects so you’re bloody unlikely to catch it from your container of fried rice likely prepared by someone who hasn’t been to China in decades.

I would (and have) avoided Chinese New Year celebrations in cities with high Chinese student populations - Liverpool, Birmingham, Edinburgh etc mainly because you don’t know where in China the students have just returned from.

Of course at the moment you’re statistically more like to be run over by a bus returning home from picking up your Chinese takeaway - but you still take the sensible precaution to look both ways before you cross the road don’t you?

Sorry @lovepickledlimes, cross posted, my last wasn't aimed at you! I understand completely why you are worried, hope you stay well!

@PicsInRed probably would be avoiding bob in sales. Anyone that traveled a lot or very recently I would avoid

@Oldishusernewname it's ok really 😊

@BanjoStarz problem is how do you know when the staff were last there etc. If I know the owner and staff and know they have not been to china I am more then happy to eat. Problem is I don't know the staff or owner and where they have been

OMG, that's completely bonkers.
Do people really think they'll catch a virus from sweet and sour chicken?
The owners of the takeaway I use are Scottish, their parents are Chinese so they have that background but they are born and brought up here.

I saw a thing on Amazon or ebay earlier about a particular supplier of face masks, one of the questions was asking whether they were airtight... and some people didn't want them if they weren't.

@IHaveBrilloHair well good if you know them. Not everyone does. Most people I know just order online so have no clue who owns it or works there

How expensive is an airfare to China? I don't expect British residents are travelling back and forth to see their great-aunts every week. I know Chinese New Year complicates it, but nevertheless, people who are ethnically Chinese aren't swallows- they don't migrate south for the winter every year!

@AwdBovril that is actually funny 🤣😂. I do admit it was not the most comfortable under that mask lol I did tell myself to keep it on though because the off chance I would get the virus it would cause me a lot more discomfort

It hasn’t crossed my mind to avoid potentially “Chinese owned businesses”. It’s such stupid line of thought.

Firstly how can you be absolutely sure that they’ve visited China recently? If they haven’t, they’re not “contagious.”

Furthermore how can you assume they’re Chinese and not from another eastern Asian country? Some Chinese takeaways near me aren’t even owned by Asian people, full stop, regardless of the business name.

In regard to their potential visitors, another poor argument. It’s soo coincidental and far fetched. Due to the widespread coverage I’m sure if they/relatives did visit they’d obviously be worried about becoming ill themselves and seek medical assistance for their own sake. As far as I’m aware there’s no confirmed cases as yet.

Frankly, these people should just never leave their house if they’re paranoid to this extent. This country has a significant amount of Chinese international students who have probably visited home recently, this means that your pals will have to avoid public transportation, all shops and public venues etc too because “omg Chinese people!!!!1”

I saw a thing on Amazon or ebay earlier about a particular supplier of face masks, one of the questions was asking whether they were airtight... and some people didn't want them if they weren't. hmm

They won't have to worry about the Corona virus for long then, such a shame they won't be able to collect their own Darwin Award and enjoy their two minutes of fame.

When I was in Boots yesterday the member of staff told me they were being asked for face masks from people going to Chinese restaurants.

Would that me masks with little holes in for food? 🤔

*be

Someone I know has had clients cancel on them because they have a Chinese surname. They are not Chinese and have never set foot in China.

@lovepickledlimes

The only people I’ve seen wearing masks in my city (mainland Europe) have been Chinese. I think it would be quite a big deal for me to wear a mask in public, but maybe the Chinese people I saw feel as you do - that it’s a sensible precaution rather than an extreme reaction.

A really ugly development Downunder. According to news.com, there has been a fake warning issued for people to avoid surburbs in Brisbane with a high proportion of people ofChinese ethnicity. I just hope that this isn’t going to build up into a massive “backlash” ( in inverted commas as the term implies vengeance. For what? ) against Chinese Australians.

We have DS1s chinese girlfriend bstat at our house most weekends. Her parents run a takeaway. Perhaps I should stay away from work just in case I infect my colleagues 🤣

Oh jeez. I’ve read of people not ordering from eBay incase they get infected parcels....
Yup cos these Chinese parcel workers lick every parcel with love before sending you it i despair at humanity and events like this just show you who the rascists really are and they themselves don't appear to even know they are racist like you OP.

Your friends sound like idiots, I shouldn’t be surprised, there is a thread on here where someone is worried about their MIL visiting the house as she’s chinese!!!