Perhaps this comes as a surprise — but probably not: Folks out there are worried that Corona beer has something to do with the coronavirus outbreak.
As the number of cases rises, people are turning to Google to learn if there’s a connection between the disease and the beer. If the only time they’ve encountered the word “corona” is in reference to the popular cerveza, perhaps they can be forgiven for associating the bug with the beverage.
Indy100, an offshoot of British news organization The Independent, first reported on the trend. The article notes that the searches for terms like “corona virus beer” and “coronavirus beer” are largely traced back to the United States, Australia, Canada and India.
Within the U.S., Idaho, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada and Kansas were the top three states searching for “corona beer virus,” according to a Google Trends analysis on Thursday. It looks like the data is changing relatively quickly, though, as Connecticut and Arkansas were on top the day before.
For the record, Corona beer has absolutely nothing to do with the coronavirus. However, it does look like Corona beer stock has taken a slight dip in recent days, and this could be at least partially a result of mistaken identity.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the name of the virus comes from spiky protuberances around the virus, making it resemble a crown — or “corona,” in Latin — under the microscope.
The coronavirus currently making headlines isn’t the first of its kind, either. As the CDC points out, a number of different viruses fall into the coronavirus category.
A key difference between more-common coronaviruses and the one spreading now is that the Wuhan, China-linked coronavirus jumped from animals to humans. SARS and MERS, coronaviruses that also sparked international fears, began in a similar fashion.
On Wednesday, CNN reported the number of Wuhan coronavirus cases had topped 6,000 worldwide, with at least 132 people dead. Most of those cases were in China, with 91 confirmed in other nations.
Five patients are confirmed in the United States, with no fatalities. Those patients had all traveled to Wuhan. However, other suspected cases are currently being tested and many precautions, including screening of airline passengers, are being put into place to safeguard the public’s health.
In response to falling demand, some airlines reduced the number of flights to China. The U.S. evacuated more than 200 citizens and government officials on a Jan. 29 flight — all the passengers have been tested multiple times for the virus on their journey.
Whew. That’s a lot of worrisome coronavirus news. I don’t know about you, but now I could use a beer!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
