Survey: Americans avoiding Corona beer amid coronavirus outbreak

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON/CNN) – Corona beer is apparently taking a hit as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread globally.

38% of beer drinkers said they would not under any circumstances buy Corona as the deadly virus continues to spread, according to a survey conducted by 5W Public Relations.

There is no known connection between the beer and the virus — except for the name.

The survey questioned more than 700 American beer drinkers.

16% of those surveyed said they were not sure whether the virus is related to Corona beer, while 14% of respondents who said they regularly consume Corona beer admitted in the survey they would not order it in public.

But the makers of Corona say they aren’t changing their approach and you won’t see any changes in Corona’s advertising.

Constellation Brands, which brews the lager, said in a statement that customers “understand there is no link between the virus and our business.”

The timing’s pretty bad, as Constellation is launching a new Corona-branded hard seltzer.

Promotion for the product has sparked criticism over a sponsored tweet that uses the phrase “coming ashore soon.”