GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — U.S. health officials are preparing for the novel coronavirus to become a pandemic.
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday the coronavirus will likely spread through the United States.
Worldwide, the total number of people infected stands at 76,798 as of Friday evening.
A total of 2,200 people have died, all except 11 of them in mainland China.
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The CDC now recognizes 34 cases in the United States, broken into two groups.
This outbreak is impacting a lot of industries, but airlines stand to lose billions.
Travel has declined to China, but travel to other Asian countries also has been impacted.
Fear about the coronavirus is prompting some people to cancel trips to Asia.
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Channel 2’s Carol Sbarge talked to the owners of a travel business in Gwinnett County that are feeling the impact.
George Ferguson and his wife Nga run Asia Desk Limited out of their Duluth home. They set up on ground services for travelers to four Asian countries, including Thailand and Vietnam.
In the month since we all learned about the coronovirus outbreak that started in China, they have heard from nervous customers, customers who are postponing trips to other Asian countries.
“We had one big family, two big families that moved from spring break trips to Christmas vacation,” George Ferguson said.
Ferguson says they had two customers that completely cancelled trips after the coronavirus outbreak.
“This kind of came up but they also discovered they were pregnant. It was not only this, but then there's the Zika thing. Maybe we won't go,” Ferguson said.
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They have been running their travel business for 20 years and have survived the impact of other outbreaks on their business. Ferguson believes China travel will be hurt for a while but is optimistic travel to the Asian countries he serves will pick up.
“It'll pass. It always does,” he said.
It is still unclear how much business the couple will lose because of the fear potential travelers have.
“When we make those changes well enough in advance, it’s easier to do than the person who calls from the airport and says, ‘I’m not getting on the plane,’” Ferguson said.
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