AUSTIN, Texas — Across the country, some Chinese restaurants are suffering over coronavirus fears.
There have been reports of people being nervous to go to eat at certain businesses because of the outbreak in China.
“I started reading about this in New York and California, specifically, that Chinatowns have been pretty much deserted. People are too scared to go because they think if they go to a Chinese restaurant or go to Chinatown, they’re going to get the coronavirus," said Jane Ko, A Taste of Koko, Austin food and travel blogger.
Ko's blog has thousands of followers and she knows that she has an important job to educate locals and tourists on all things Austin. She recently wrote a post advocating for the Asian community.
"So in light of recent events with Coronavirus (COVID-19), I thought this would be an appropriate time for me to write a guide to the best Asian food in Austin," said Ko in her Best of Asian Food in Austin post.
Ko's post talked about all her favorite Asian restaurants, hoping people will be inspired to go out an visit their favorite mom and pop Asian restaurants.
"I didn't expect that within 24 hours, my blog post got shared over 300 times and my Instagram post got shared over 200 times because everyone was like, 'Wow, is this happening?'," Ko said. "Because a lot of people who live here in town don't even know this sort of racism was happening across the nation."
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Her post is sorted by Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, where to get ramen, where to get dumplings, and more.
"We live in such a bubble here in Austin, Texas, and so a lot of people were like, 'Thank you so much for putting this together, I had no idea,'" Ko told KVUE. "I’m going to go out and eat at my favorite Asian restaurant because I haven’t been there in half a year."
Thomas Li is the owner at Li Hot Pot and BBQ on 825 E Rundberg Lane. Li said he luckily hasn't seen a decrease of customers but makes sure his restaurant is as clean as possible.
"I pay very close attention for this. Originally, I'm from China ... the situation there is very tough," said Li.
"I think it's important to be cautious, especially right now," Ko said. "Be cautious about where you go, but don't let the fear of the coronavirus scare you from leaving the house and eating out."
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