Coronavirus is taking its toll on Clark County tourism, service industry

Though it really is hard to predict what long-term monetary impact the coronavirus could have on Clark County, its effect on some local businesses, especially those in the service and tourism industries, has been immediate.

Many local restaurants have switched to only providing carryout, while some have added delivery options for customers and others have decided to stay closed until further notice. Those decisions followed an order from Gov. Mike DeWine that called on restaurants over the state to turn off their dining rooms because of COVID-19, generally known as coronavirus, concerns.Big tourism drivers like the Clark County Fairgrounds and the Champions Center Expo have suspended hosting events before middle of April.

Altogether, local events which may have been cancelled because of coronavirus concerns were likely to bring in thousands of folks in to the area over the coming weeks and generate huge amount of money in to the local economy, said Chris Schutte, the director of the higher Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.Many area universites and colleges have postponed or canceled graduation ceremonies in light of the coronavirus outbreak. 

Those institutions also have suspended in-classroom instruction and also have moved towards online coursework for the time being.National companies that either have facilities or are headquartered in the region have drastically reduced or barred business related travel as a precaution to greatly help prevent the virus from spreading.