As reported by the health news, scientists are now racing to find a cure as thousands of people have been affected by the virus that originated in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in China.

Moreover, while the government and citizens are making efforts to limit contact with the outside world, companies have started to close down their business in China temporarily.
One of the most prominent organizations to do this is Starbucks that owns more than 4000 outlets across the country and half of them have been closed as the risk of Coronavirus grows each day.

Source: BBC.com

The spokesperson for the international chain said “this is expected to be temporary” and they are going to “monitor and modify the operating hours of all our stores in the market”.
The delivery was suspended last week in the city of Wuhan, but now they are forced to limit service in the entire country even though China is one of the leading markets for the company outside of the United States.

The sales from the country account for more than 10% of the total global revenue and this sudden close down of stores will affect their annual profit.
Apple, which is another giant industry operating in China, has also issued warnings to close down business in light of the recent events.

The Chief Executive Officer of Apple said that they are “closely monitoring” the spread of the virus and have therefore limited travels for the employees and sales in the country.

Source: Mashable SEA

The factory that manufactures products in China for the tech giants is yet to open its supply market for the stores, and overall, all the global franchises located in China are suffering due to the epidemic.
Last week, Facebook also advised its employees to avoid travelling to China and was the first US multinational to take such precautions.

They said they were “acting out of an abundance of caution” and the restrictions have become necessary for the protection of the staff.
Flights are being delayed or cancelled, and companies all around the world are not allowing their workers to travel to China unless it’s necessary.
Businesses operating from China are also shutting down, and employers are asking people to stay at home. People who have recently travelled to or from the affected places like Wuhan are offered generous holidays by the companies to stop the spread of the virus.

Source: Business Insider

So far, 17 countries have been affected by the epidemic and sales in businesses are dropping each week as companies close businesses and many cities cancel celebrations for Lunar New Year.
CEO of Starbucks, Kevin Johnson said that they “remain optimistic and committed to the long-term opportunity in China” and while we hope that normalcy returns to the region, the current situation says that the virus is far from being cured.