A nightclub and promotion company in Australia have apologized for hosting a “Corona Chinese New Year Special” amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has killed nearly 500 people.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald and AU ABC News, promotion company Mr. Chan’s was set to host the event at Pawn & Co, which is located in Melbourne, on Friday night.
Mr. Chan’s advertised the event beforehand, offering a limited-edition face mask and $8 Corona beers. They also promoted it through an Instagram post that featured a graphic of a man in a cartoon rice hat holding a beer with a face mask covering his mouth.
Anthony Leong, president of the Chinese-Australia Friendship Association, called the event “ignorant, racist and insensitive,” before it was canceled, which led to Mr. Chan’s and Pawn & Co issuing apologies, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
“We recognize that a promotional post that was made last week was offensive and we unreservedly apologize for this,” Mr. Chan’s said, according to the newspaper.
Pawn & Co also apologized, but seemed to distance itself from Mr. Chan’s.
“From the team at Pawn & Co, we would like to unreservedly apologize for the insensitive and inappropriate marketing that has been circulated from Mr Chan’s,” the statement said, according to both outlets. “Whilst it is an external promotional company that owns the Mr Chan’s brand, we acknowledge that we should have been more active in understanding the communication being marketed and how it might be perceived.”
Mr. Chan’s and Pawn & Co have deleted their Instagram and Facebook accounts.
As of Wednesday, there have been 24,324 cases of coronavirus in China, and 490 people have died from the respiratory illness. Twelve cases have been confirmed the United States. On Friday, the Trump administration announced a ban on non-U.S. citizens arriving from China, and said it will quarantine any Americans who came from Hubei in the last 14 days. All flights from China are being required to go to 11 airports with enhanced health screenings.
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Still, the Centers for Disease Control emphasizes that the average American is at a “low” risk of developing this coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV, and that the seasonal flu is more of a threat.
“Our guidance is that at this time of year, the best things you can do are the things that we generally recommend at this time of year to prevent the spread of infectious diseases,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC said Thursday. “Wash your hands, cover your cough, take care of yourself, and keep alert to the information that we’re providing, because we’ll provide new information as it becomes available.”
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