The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is supporting the Asian business community by working to dispel misinformation and fear amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Even though there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in New York City, many business owners in Brooklyn’s Chinatown are saying that fears of the virus are affecting their bottom line, with customers appearing to be avoiding the area. Local officials, doctors and business owners gathered on Monday at the Park Asia Restaurant in Sunset Park to address this issue.

Dr. Michael S. Phillips of NYU Langone said that though people can be concerned about the coronavirus, there is still a need to understand the science of the virus better.

“We need to start thinking about this as a very severe flu,” Dr. Phillips said. “It transmits like the flu, but that means there are certain things that we can do to keep ourselves and our communities safe and some of that is basic measures like washing your hands.”

The overall message of the meeting was to support the community and to try not to be afraid.