NEW DELHI: Apart from economically impacting trade, tourism and aviation amongst other global sectors, novel coronavirus has an unlikely victim - a popular global beer brand.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Corona Beer has become the subject of memes and videos shared on social media as the toll from the virus climbs worldwide.
Reports of an increase in online searches for "corona beer virus" and "beer coronavirus" show the Mexican beer hasn't been able to escape the association, the report said.
The so-called purchase intent among adults in the US has plunged to the lowest in two years, according to data from YouGov Plc, as stated by the Bloomberg report.
"The damage has become more severe in recent days as infections spread. Shares of Corona-maker Constellation Brands Inc. dived 8 per cent this week in New York, " the Bloomberg report said.
"Corona's buzz score -- which tracks whether American adults aware of the brand have heard positive or negative things about it -- has tumbled to 51 from a high of 75 at the beginning of the year, " YouGov said.
As per the report, Corona, which derives its name from the Sun's corona and has nothing to do with the virus, is the third-most popular beer in the US, according to YouGov rankings. Guinness is first and Heineken is second.
"Another reason for the drop in purchase intent could be the perception of Corona as a summer beverage associated with beach holidays, " YouGov business data journalist Graeme Bruce wrote in an article published on Wednesday. "It therefore has substantial seasonal fluctuations, " he said.
Currently, the overall coronavirus toll in China increased to 2, 744 with 78, 497 confirmed cases. However, a Chinese health expert on Thursday said that the coronavirus outbreak would be "basically under control" in the country by the end of April.