Virologist Concerned that “Cured” Patients Still Harbor Coronavirus

Wuhan, the epicenter of the CCP virus outbreak, is the ninth most populous city in China. Ever since the lockdown, millions of people’s livelihood has been severely impacted.  Food services in Wuhan have suffered heavy losses. Businesses were suspended during the pandemic while supplies were stocked and deposits made for food reservations were returned. The estimated daily operating income loss was over one billion yuan ($142 million). - On April 3, the owners of 150 food and drink businesses in Wuhan sent a petition letter to the local authorities asking for relief. However, no officials were available to accept the letter.  Mr. Li is an owner of a grill house chain store. Reporter: What was the situation? Mr. Li: Everyone has a different understanding. Last year, the entire food and beverage industry experienced a scenario of high rent, labor, and food supplies, but low revenues. By the end of last year, the net profit was almost zero. With the outbreak in the new year, it’s been really tough. Reporter: When did you send in the petition? How did it go? Mr. Li: To the authorities, yesterday. Reporter: How many people went? Did the official say anything? Mr. Li: No one was there to receive us. All of us are small and medium business (SME) owners in Wuhan. Yesterday there were 150 of us, all owners of SME. We haven’t heard anything from the regime. We were hoping the regime would provide some support and help. There are more than 100 enterprises in Wuhan, and several thousand stores. With the shut down of these stores, the economic impact to Wuhan is sure to be huge. Reporter: How many stores and restaurants do you have? What’s the total loss and how was the rent handled? Mr. Li: Some shopping malls have waived the rent for a month, others didn’t do anything. I have 15 stores. The loss was nearly 10 million yuan ($1.42 million). Reporter: When did the business stop? Are any of the stores back in business, for instance, food delivery? Mr. Li: We stopped operating on Jan. 22 when the outbreak began. Everyone was on leave. Some employees had to leave Wuhan. Once the lockdown is lifted, the problem will continue for food and beverage businesses. No one will come to a restaurant. We are in the barbecue business. It’s hard to do deliveries with a barbecue business. Reporter: If people go back to work on April 8, what’s your plan? Mr. Li: We can’t go back to work just yet. Because if we resume the business, the shopping mall will demand the rent owed, and the employees need their paychecks. We have no money at this point. Reporter: Without a subsidy from the authorities, would it mean bankruptcy for many businesses? Mr. Li: At least several hundred businesses in Wuhan will go bankrupt. I am just talking about the food and beverage businesses. There will be nearly 20,000 stores facing closures. The estimated job loss will be in the hundreds of thousands. That’s why we need the support and help from the regime. - Ms. Liu is a Chinese restaurant owner in Wuhan. Ms. Liu: Before the new year, we were already told not to have the new year celebration banquet. We had to keep everything in the freezer. It’s been over three months now, and we still can’t open the restaurant because we then have to deal with the issues of paychecks, rent, and so on. We can’t do it if the landlord charges rent. Many people would not dare to dine out. Without income, we can’t afford the rent and pay our employees. We have to close the restaurant. We can’t feed the employees. We also need to break even with the cost of the store, such as remodeling and maintenance. None of the operational costs can be recovered. We have to close the store. Reporter: How long has the store been around for? Ms. Liu: Over a decade. Many of our workers are long-time employees. The business was not doing well last year. Now with this pandemic, there’s still rent and salaries to pay, there’s just no way out. There are 20 employees in the store. Reporter: When did you stop the business? Ms. Liu: We have been closed since January 17. Ms. Liu: It was said ther