I would guess that restaurant usage is way down anyway out of fear of contagion. You can’t eat through a surgical mask. And, you can’t be out in public without wearing one.
So why not make it official by shutting the restaurants?
China’s quarterly GDP growth figure is either going to be sad or complete fantasy. Or maybe, both.
The PRC's 4Q2019 GDP growth was near its 30-yar low. With numbers like that, many foreign investors may have been re-considering whether the PRC is worth it or not.
Perhaps, the PRC, knowing their economy wasn't that strong fundamentally, is knowingly pushing these economically-crushing policies in the midst of the pandemic. That way, investors may think "well, yea, PRC's GDP was awful in the first quarter but that was all due to that virus thing...fundamentally the PRC is still ok, right?" The PRC will certainly blame coronavirus for any bad economic data in the forthcoming months, many people will lap that up, and not see the possible fundamental cracks in their economic model.
It's enough to make Rahm proud. Is this speculation? Of course. And certainly we should be prudent and vigilant on the shores of America about the potential for this virus to be nasty within our borders. But being of the mindset that coronavirus will wipe us out in the US is just as speculative.
If you’ve never been in China or some other Asian countries, it’s difficult to understand just how important public dining is to their culture and economy. Eating out is not just a daily occurrence, but with many young people it’s their usual way of eating. Most young people don’t have cooking skills beyond boiling water for instant noodles. The sheer number of people involved in the restaurant business, as well as the thousands of street side food stalls in every major city, means that there are many poorer people who have had their sole source of income drastically reduced or eliminated. And then there are the people who supply the restaurants, who rent space, etc. The Chinese economy will not survive a long-term shutdown of public eating establishments.