Covid-19’s accelerating spread has hampered operations and slowed sales at some companies in a matter of days, but many say they hope precautions adopted during previous surges will help them motor through this one.
Restaurants were among businesses most immediately hit.
Chris Fuselier, owner of the Blake Street Tavern in downtown Denver, said his business has fallen since the Omicron variant began to be detected in the area and the city instituted new Covid-19-related restrictions last month. “We’ve had a huge slowdown the past three weeks,” he said.
Mr. Fuselier said one of his employees also caught the virus in recent days. He shut down the bar and restaurant’s weekday lunch service last week. “We were hopeful the downtown workers would come back to their offices with the new year,” he said. “Now, companies are telling workers to stay home due to Omicron.”
For the week ended Nov. 28, U.S. restaurant seatings were down 4% from 2019 levels, according to data from the website of reservation service OpenTable. A week later, they were down 9% by the same metrics. The following week, ended Dec. 12, seatings were down 12%, according to the company.
The last 72 hours is really where things seem to be escalating,” said New York restaurant owner Gabriel Stulman on Saturday night, after around nine employees across his four restaurants tested positive for Covid-19.
That led to Mr. Stulman’s Joseph Leonard restaurant in Manhattan not having enough staff to open for brunch on Saturday. He had hoped the restaurant could still open for dinner because Saturday is one of its busiest days, making up roughly 25% of the week’s revenue. Then, another positive test came in and he closed the restaurant through Monday. Mr. Stulman’s restaurants are among those seeking more aid from Congress.
Businesses of all kinds have been contending with pandemic-related setbacks for nearly two years, from supply-chain woes and labor shortages to higher costs and shifting government rules. Many businesses closed. But thanks in part to myriad forms of government stimulus and enduring consumer demand, many so far have navigated the pandemic and have even bolstered profits. The fast-spreading Omicron variant presents the latest test.
Lance Lappin, owner of an eponymous hair salon in downtown Manhattan for about 37 years, said that in the past few days three or four customers have canceled appointments saying they had been near someone who had tested positive for Covid-19.
Mr. Lappin said his customer base for years has included many people who worked in offices. But expectations for the return of workers keep getting dashed. Now, “there’s no anchor to even hold on to,” he said. “It’s frustrating and exhausting.”
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” decided against having a studio audience at the weekend’s show, and several cast and crew members were sidelined with Covid-19. “Tonight, everyone at ‘Saturday Night Live’ planned to do our big Christmas show…but Covid came early this year,” guest Tom Hanks said during the show’s opening.
In Germany, LMC Caravan GmbH halted production of its recreational vehicles on Wednesday evening after an Omicron outbreak at the company’s factory in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Some 47 employees tested positive for the new variant, LMC said. Dozens of others have tested positive for coronavirus in rapid tests and are expecting confirmation via a PCR test. The company plans to resume production on Jan. 4.
The outbreak dismayed LMC’s management because the factory had a vaccination rate of roughly 75% and a mask mandate, and anyone who was unvaccinated had to be tested daily. “We were shocked,” Rene Ricken, LMC’s managing director, said in a written statement.
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