Coronavirus: Industry bodies warn against panic and over-reaction

Hospitality Ulster chief executive Colin Neill told the BBC the cancellation of Ireland’s forthcoming Six Nations rugby match with Italy had an “economic impact” estimated to be worth “in the hundreds of thousands” to pubs.

Other industry bodies such as public transport provider Translink and Retail NI have warned against panic over the virus.

Travel agents are also being impacted by fears of the virus.

But Heather Fielding from Gallagher Travel, a spokesperson for the ABTA organisation representing travel agents, said it is “very much business as normal” for many holidaymakers.

“I won’t say business hasn’t been affected but people are still booking, people still want to go on holidays, although people are a bit more hesitant and are asking more questions,” she told the News Letter.

She added: “We are trying to advise people to make sure that they have a protected package, and to ensure that they have adequate travel insurance as well.”

Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts told the News Letter: “No-one should underestimate the likely impact of this, but what we should also be cautious of is the possibility of creating a panic.

“We should be careful that we are not over-reacting. We should remain cool, calm and collected and follow the advice that’s out there. There’s really very little else we can do at this stage.”

Mr Roberts added: “Of course it is a continuously changing situation and, right now, it is difficult to estimate what sort of economic impact there might be. What we would say to both shoppers and retailers is to ensure you are up to date with what the Public Health Agency and the Home Office are saying.

“We’re not at the stage where the government is advising us against large-scale public events, so we will take each day as it comes.”

Translink, meanwhile, confirmed that “deep cleaning” is already being carried out on its fleet of vehicles but stressed that there is a “relatively low level of risk” for public transport users.

A Translink spokesperson said: “We already regularly undertake deep cleaning of our fleet and have cleaning regimes in place which include keeping surfaces clean and sanitising hand touch areas.

“PHA (Public Health Agency) has advised that there is a relatively low level of risk to anyone who travels on public transport.”

• Ryanair has become the latest airline to cancel flights due to a drop in demand caused by Covid-19.

The Dublin-based carrier said it is reducing frequencies on some routes by up to 25%, which will particularly affect its flights to and from Italy.

The reduced schedule will operate from March 17 until April 8 following a “significant drop in bookings” over the period, according to the carrier.

This follows flight cancellations by a number of carriers, including British Airways and easyJet.

Ryanair said it is implementing “rolling schedule cuts”.