Intro

Across America, businesses are scaling back, firing workers and shutting their doors because of the coronavirus. New York’s Chinatown has been experiencing a downturn for weeks as anxiety and discrimination affected business. Now, the state government has mandated nonessential businesses in the city keep 75 percent of their workers home. So what did it sound like as one of the busiest cities in the world ground to a halt? Five producers at “The Daily,” Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Jessica Cheung, Daniel Guillemette and Andy Mills, spoke to small business owners to find out. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Background reading:

• With so many businesses being forced to close, some indefinitely, claims for jobless benefits surged 33 percent last week. Here are the latest updates on the crisis and its impact on daily life across America.
• As so much of life begins to shift, we have answers to some common questions about the coronavirus crisis.

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