With Chinese New Year celebrations underway in San Francisco, local vendors hope fears about the coronavirus don’t keep people away.
“It’s just a wonderful place for people to get to know Chinese New Year,” said local Ryan Chen. “It’s a great place for the community to get together.”
This year is the Year of the Rat. The street was busy with vendors and visitors, but Chen said he’s seen more in the past. He said he hopes concerns about the coronavirus don’t keep people away as the big parade with dazzling floats and dancers rolls through.
One woman thought it was even more important to come out this year.
“To walk around Chinatown and be supportive of the fair itself, we understand there is a lot of fear concerning the coronavirus,” said Chris Pagulayan of San Francisco.
Isaac Shabptai runs a camera shop and he said business is down recently, but he thinks car break-ins and other city problems are the reason.
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“They steal all the belongings,” he said. “That’s what it is. It’s the city policy, it’s not the corona.”
The Department of public health said there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus among San Francisco residents and the risk to the public is low.
