Coronavirus: What can Jersey Shore businesses do to prepare if it spreads here?

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CDC: Not 'if' but 'when' coronavirus spreads in US

The Knoxville News-Sentinel

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Jersey Shore-area businesses are beginning to see the impact of the coronavirus hit home, with lower sales and a run on face masks, but many said they have yet to make concrete preparations in case it turns into an outbreak.

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The threat prompted experts to urge executives and entrepreneurs to come up with a plan to minimize contact with others and work from home.

"I think, like anything else, we just remain vigilant, and we do all the precautionary measures we have to take," said Lou Scaduto Jr., president and chief executive officer of Middletown-based Food Circus Super Markets, which operates five Super Foodtown stores.

The coronavirus, first detected in China last year, is expected to make inroads in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday, raising the possibility that it could become a pandemic. See them discuss it more in the video at the top of this story.

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Experts said businesses aren't well prepared for the event. The Shore might be accustomed to nor'easters that can shut down the economy for a day or two, but a virus that overwhelms the health care system is uncharted territory.

"In that case, every white-collar business in America is going to do a live experiment on work from home," said Marc Cenedella, founder and chief executive officer of Ladders.com, a recruiting site. "The risk is a lockdown due to the coronavirus leads to a shutdown of the American office."

There have been 57 confirmed coronavirus cases reported in the U.S., according to the CDC. 

'Not a question of if ... but when': How NJ hospitals are preparing for coronavirus spread

It's a fraction of the nearly 9,000 flu cases reported in New Jersey alone this year, but it has begun to spark fear. The Dow Jones industrial average fell  12.4%  last week. Microsoft and Apple, the two most valuable companies in the S&P 500, lost a combined $300 billion.

The virus is having an impact at the Shore. Red Bank-based Concept III, which makes outdoor apparel, expects sales to be about 15% lower after some of the manufacturing plants that it partners with in China shut down, said David Parkes, founder and chief executive officer.

In Wall, Andrew Barlow, a pharmacist at Campbell's Pharmacy, said his co-workers met to come up with a plan to replace generic medicine that is made in China.

Coronavirus: If it hits New Jersey, here's what to expect in public confined spaces

© Chung Sung-Jun, Getty Images Disinfection professionals wear protective suits whilst spraying an anti-septic solution against the coronavirus (COVID-19) at a National Assembly on Feb. 24, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea.

And in Middletown, sales at House of Chong, a Chinese restaurant in Middletown, are down by about 30%, said owner Danny Chong, who has scrambled to reassure customers that his store is no more susceptible to the virus than any other.

"I don’t think it’s necessarily the food, just the association of the coronavirus coming from China," he said. "I can’t really put my finger on it in terms of what everyone is feeling in terms of the general public."

"But it makes sense," Chong said. "if you are sitting around with friends and family, (and ask), 'Hey, what do you want to eat tonight?' That’s such an easy conversation. It only takes one to joke, 'Are you sure you want to go with Chinese?'"

The CDC's warning on Tuesday raised the prospect that the virus could become a greater danger to the U.S. 

Is New Jersey ready?: Here's what health officials have prepared if the coronavirus spreads

© Richard Drew, AP A specialist rests his head in his hand as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. U.S. stocks fell in midday trading Tuesday, a day after the market's biggest drop in two years, as traders worry that the spreading coronavirus will threaten global economic growth. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Businesses contacted by the Asbury Park Press said they were paying attention to the fallout from the illness, but they had yet to devise a plan on what to do in case it turns into a worst-case scenario.

At Food Circus, Scaduto said customers are encouraged to wipe their shopping carts with sanitizers and employees are encouraged to get flu shots. But he is waiting to hear from the New Jersey Food Council, a trade group, on whether to take additional steps for the coronavirus.

"Nothing has come out through them yet," he said.

Michael Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy for 20 years. He can be reached at 732-643-4038; mdiamond@gannettnj.com; and @mdiamondapp on Twitter. 

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Coronavirus: What can Jersey Shore businesses do to prepare if it spreads here?