As a director of a spare parts company in Canada, Alex Richter has a lot of work to do in China, but he doesn't know if he should go to an "outbreak".

Richter, an entrepreneur in Toronto, Canada, is scheduled to visit several cities in China in February to assess product quality control and meet local partners. But he was forced to reconsider his plan after a new pandemic of the corona virus (nCoV) pandemic broke out in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and then spread throughout China and many other countries, leaving 362 dead and more than 17,000 cases globally.

Richter even opened a survey on his personal Twitter account to consult people about his business trip in China, with three options including canceling a trip, postponing plans and leaving despite the translation because "the job is above all". Most of the participants voted in support of his cancellation or delay.

A few days later, Air Canada decided to stop flying to China, including the Richter flight booked. He himself also told himself that the business trip is no longer a concern. "All businesses in China are closed, so the plan is completely gone. There is now a ghost town," Richter said.

No one can be sure about the safety of the trips to China, making companies big and small around the world miserable and disturbing the global supply chain. Dozens of airlines suspended flights to China. Mongolia, North Korea and Russia decided to close the border with the country. In this context, many entrepreneurs have no choice but to postpone their work.

Nancy Williams Painter, vice president of design at Hemp Fortex Textile in the US, said she was forced to cancel her trip to China after the airline she booked stopped announcing it. "Regardless of how I want to go next week. If they don't cancel flights, I think my plans won't change," Painter said.

She is not the only businessman who doesn't want to give up on her long-planned plan to go to China. Sammy Bernard, who runs a fashion brand in Nigeria, is scheduled to fly to Beijing on February 12 to meet fabric suppliers. On the one hand, he doesn't want to be a carrier of the deadly pathogen back home, but on the other, he needs to maintain contact with partners in China, where the fabric is extremely cheap.

Bernard is still planning to keep the plan, because the airline he booked has not canceled to China. "I don't want to be infected with the virus. Wearing a mask and following a series of warnings will keep me safe," Bernard said.

In the US, several big companies like Goldman Sachs, General Motors and Wells Fargo have imposed orders restricting employees to China. Analysts predict this disruption could have a significant impact on China's economy, at least in the short term.

Unlike the time when SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic raged in 2002-2003, China is now an economic powerhouse, the "factory" of the world and the global trading center. Deep connection with all major industries. That enormous role implies a significant global risk of pneumonia, according to economists at JPMorgan Financial Group.

China's position also means more and more people are coming here to work. Andy Payne, founder of the game company AppyNation in the UK, said he canceled two planned Chinese trips in February.

Now, Payne is forced to hold talks with Chinese partners by video calling. "If you're negotiating an important agreement, you need to meet face-to-face, just spend a little extra time. Time is money," he explained.

Apart from China, entrepreneurs are restricted to another financial center of the world, Singapore due to the spread of nCoV. Entrepreneur First, a London-based startup, had to cancel a major event in the island nation, where there were 18 cases.

"Gathering people from epidemic areas in a room seems like a bad idea. The situation is really damaging for businesses and our team," said Matt Clifford, founder of Entrepreneur First. will.

In Toronto, Richter said his spare parts company had enough inventory to overcome the problems and disruptions at work with its Chinese partners, which provide hydraulic hose couplings and mechanical parts. other.

He is also not worried about future trips to China, because the businessman said that for a populous country like China, the risk of him getting nCoV is very low. "I'm still going there in March," Richter said.