BY ROSE ADAMS
The widespread fears over
the deadly coronavirus has
sparked concerns within
Brooklyn’s Chinese communities
— threatening immigrant
businesses and leaving many
residents homebound, according
to some residents.
“Before anyone dies, the
businesses are going to die,”
said Kenneth Chiu, a Sunset
Park resident and the president
of the New York City
Asian-American Democratic
Club.
The respiratory illness,
which experts believe originated
in bats, spreads from
person-to-person and produces
symptoms with varying severity
— such a fever, coughing,
and shortness of breath, according
to the Center for Disease
Control.
The virus fi rst surfaced in
humans during an outbreak
in China’s Wuhan City late
last year, and has since infected
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COURIER L 10 IFE, FEBRUARY 7-13, 2020
more than 20,000 people
worldwide, and killed over 400
people thus far — with most
victims residing in Asia, and
only 11 confi rmed cases in the
United States, according to a
Bloomberg report.
Two patients in New York
City who recently traveled
from mainland China are being
tested for the virus, and
are currently hospitalized in
Queens, according to City Hall.
However, leaders in Brooklyn’s
Chinese communities say
that misinformation about the
illness has sewn excessive fear
among Chinese residents —
and took the spirit out of the Lunar
New Year holiday season.
“This should be a busy holiday
season. Around this time of
year, businesses are doing banquets
for the new year,” Chiu
said. “But people just want to
be safe rather than sorry and it
has affected catering halls, restaurants,
eateries.”
Businesses in Flushing,
Queens have been particularly
hard-hit, according to Chiu,
who claimed that revenue has
dropped by “half” as locals
are scared to even leave their
homes.
Last week, reps with the
Flushing Town Hall canceled
the venue’s famous Lunar New
Year Chinese Temple Bazaar
out of fear of the illness.
Stores in Sunset Park, which
boasts a large Chinese population,
have suffered smaller
losses because the area’s residents
mostly emigrated from
southern China — hundreds of
miles from where the disease
originated, according to Chiu.
“Sunset Park seems a lot
better,” he said. “But it seems
that business is 25 to 30 percent
slower.”
Outside the community, fear
of the virus has fueled racial
misperceptions of Chinese residents
Community leaders say that Chinese businesses are suffering amid the
coronavirus scare, since many locals are afraid to leave their house.
Photo by Zoe Freilich
— such as the idea that
Chinese people who wear medical
face masks may have contracted
the virus themselves,
community leaders said.
“Some people are trying to
target Chinese people who wear
the mask,” said Ansen Tang,
an employee at the United Chinese
Association in Gravesend.
“They just wear them to prevent
getting sick…And now
there’s a fear that if you wear a
mask that people will give you a
look or stay away from you.”
Sunset Park schools have
also had alarmist reactions to
the virus — sending Chinese
students home for wearing face
masks or showing faint signs of
illness, Chiu said.
“I hear parents complain to
me that the school or a teacher
sent their kid home because
they’re wearing a mask, or they
sneeze, or show minor signs of
illness,” he explained.
Rather than panic, Chiu encouraged
Brooklynites to go
about their routine and maintain
good hygiene.
“My advice is to keep calm,
stay informed, and follow best
practices,” he said.
GOING VIRAL
Coronavirus scare threatens Sunset Park businesses
and fuels anti-Chinese sentiment, residents say
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