Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group announced yesterday that it was temporarily shutting down 40 stores across Hong Kong and Macau as fears over the possible spread of the novel coronavirus saw shoppers keeping away.

The jeweller had already taken similar steps in Mainland China, where outlets in what is being described as “affected regions”, which are estimated to cover about 80% of the total network across the country, have been closed, as governments and mall managements urged retailers to temporarily shut operations.

In HK and Macau, the retailer said, the remaining stores will shorten their operating hours, and close by 7 pm. However, it clarified that it had no plans to lay off employees, and all frontline staff would either be encouraged to take their annual leave, or be accommodated in other stores that are currently open.

All the measures announced yesterday will continue “till further notice”, the jeweller said.