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Corona Beer to Halt Production Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

The suspension was announced days after the Mexican government ordered nonessential businesses to close.

Credit...Henry Romero/Reuters

Corona beer has become a temporary victim of the coronavirus.

Grupo Modelo, the brewer behind Corona, Modelo and other beers, said in a statement on Thursday that it was suspending its beer production after the Mexican government ordered nonessential businesses to close in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The brewer, which is part of Anheuser-Busch InBev, said that should the federal government decide later that its product was essential, “at Grupo Modelo we are ready to execute a plan with more than 75 percent of our staff working from home and at the same time guaranteeing the supply of beer.”

Grupo Modelo’s Corona beer drew attention about a month ago after consumers mistakenly associated it with the fast-spreading virus, which by that point had already begun its global march.

In one survey, 38 percent of surveyed American beer drinkers said they would not buy Corona beer “under any circumstances,” CBS News reported on March 1.

However, Constellation Brands, which handles Grupo Modelo’s beer in the United States, said that the virus had not affected sales, according to CNN.

The suspension, which Grupo Modelo said would take effect on Sunday, was announced just days after the Mexican government, which has been slow to respond to the pandemic, declared a health emergency and stiffened rules aimed at slowing the virus.

Mexico has at least 1,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and 50 deaths.

Aimee Ortiz is a general assignment reporter on the Express Desk. She previously worked at The Boston Globe.  More about Aimee Ortiz

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