Coronavirus fears: Box Hill Central businesses suffer downturn as shoppers steer clear
MPs from both sides of politics have united to help spruik Box Hill businesses, as coronavirus fears mean traders take a heavy hit to the hip pocket.
East
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There’s absolutely no reason not to visit Box Hill.
In a partisan approach, that’s the message from state and federal Labor and Liberal MPs who flocked to the suburb’s shopping precinct today, declaring Box Hill is very much open for business.
Box Hill state Labor MP Paul Hamer, Labor Senator Raff Ciccone, Scullin federal Labor MP Andrew Giles ate lunch at Grain Asian Cafe, before they were joined by Chisholm federal Liberal MP Gladys Liu.
Like most businesses in the shopping precinct, the cafe is down 70 per cent on its takings over the past fortnight due to fears of coronavirus, according to owner and Asian Business Association of Whitehorse member Steven Zheng.
“It’s almost a disaster,” he said.
“It’s more than a health issue. It’s a community issue,”
Mr Zheng said the association surveyed Box Hill Central traders on Tuesday and discovered business was down 67 per cent on average.
He said some shops had been getting rid of casual staff because their takings were so low, and there were fears some shops would have to cease trading.
The association’s founding member, Vincent Liu, said he had never seen the shopping area so quiet in his 33 years in Box Hill.
“We need the help, not just from the community, but from the government,” he said.
The MPs sat down with association representatives and spoke with traders about how to return Box Hill to its normally booming state, as customers walked around wearing face masks.
Mr Zheng said misinformation about the virus, particularly in discussions on social media platform WeChat, including about the way the illness spreads, was inciting a lot of fear.
“It’s very important to manage the fear and spread of rumours,” he said.
Mr Hamer told Leader he had been sharing the Health Department’s advice on the virus wherever he could in both English and Chinese, including on WeChat channels.
Mr Ciccone said he and his staff were still visiting Box Hill Central for lunch everyday.
Similarly, Ms Liu said she was continuing to frequent the area.
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“I’m a local,” she said. “I come here to shop, to eat and to take the train,” she said,
Ms Liu said the federal government’s advice was there was no need to be alarmed about the spread of the virus.
“We need to stay calm,” she said. “We don’t need to panic.”
“We are handling it very well in terms of controlling the spread of the virus.”
Whitehorse councillor Tina Liu also joined the discussions, and said the council met with businesses on Thursday to discuss ways to support them.
Mr Zheng said the business association was hoping to reschedule its Chinese New Year Festival, which it cancelled due to fears of the virus, and hoped it would help kick start the economy in Box Hill again.
He said the association wanted the event to be soon, but didn’t want to host it while people were misinformed and scared, because it would ruin the festivities.