>> WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE'S BUSINESS.
I'M FRED KOCUR.
WE'VE ALL BEEN WATCHING COVERAGE OF THE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE WITH CONCERN.
BUT IT'S GOING TO CHANGE AND IT COULD CHANGE THE ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE OF THIS COUNTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE IF IT SPREADS.
WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT WITH MY GUEST, RUSTLE THIBEAULT, THE ECONOMIST, A COUPLE OF GRAPHICS.
C.D.C. IS WORKING WITH THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, THE WORK FORCE FOR THE POSSIBILITY THAT THIS OUTBREAK CAN BE A PANDEMIC.
THE BUREAU OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONTROL SAYS THE NUMBER OF CASES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE IS ZERO AS OF FEBRUARY 7TH.
WITH ME TO TALK ABOUT THIS AS AN ECONOMIC SITUATION IN THIS COUNTRY AND IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, ECONOMIST RUSSELL THIBEAULT OF APPLIED ECONOMIC RESEARCH.
WELCOME.
>> GREAT TO BE HERE.
I WISH IT WAS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT THANK YOU.
>> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
BUT YOU LIVED LONG ENOUGH, AS I HAVE, TO SEE THE ASIAN FLU AND THE SWINE FLU AND SO FORTH.
WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON THIS ONE?
>> WELL, UNCERTAINTY IS REALLY THE KEY WORD AND THERE'S A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY THERE.
INVESTORS ARE UNCERTAIN AND YOU SEE THAT IN THE STOCK MARKET.
SO, UNCERTAINTY IS THE ENEMY OF PROSPERITY.
SO, RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN A VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION AND I THINK SUPPLY CHAINS ARE DISRUPTED.
SO, IT'S A BIG DEAL ECONOMICALLY.
>> IT'S A BIG DEAL AND A LOT OF OUR COMPANIES ARE COMPONENT PART COMPANIES TO BIGGER COMPANIES AND THEY'RE FEELING IT ALREADY OR ABOUT TO FEEL IT.
NOW, YOU HAVE A SON IN HONG KONG AND HE'S EXPERIENCED THIS FIRSTHAND, TELL US.
>> YEAH, HE'S A TEACHER AT A UNIVERSITY IN HONG KONG, THE UNIVERSITY HASN'T BEEN OPEN FOR ALMOST A MONTH.
HIS WIFE IS A TEACHER AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HONG KONG, HASN'T BEEN OPEN ALMOST A MONTH AND HIS SON IS IN GRAMMAR SCHOOL, CLOSED ALMOST A MONTH.
IT'S HAVING A SERIOUS IMPACT BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT A LOT OF PEOPLE TO BE MINGLING TOGETHER WHETHER IT'S IN SCHOOL OR THE WORK, SO A LOT OF FACTORIES SHUT DOWN AND THOSE FACTORIES SUPPLY
A LOT OF IMPORTANT THINGS TO THE WEST AND AT HOME.
>> THEY'RE STUCK AT HOME.
LET'S GO TO THE GRAPHIC, HERE ARE INDUSTRIES THAT ARE GOING TO BE AND ARE ALREADY AFFECTED BY THE VIRUS.
>> IMPORTS FROM CHINA THAT COME INTO THIS COUNTRY IN BIG NUMBERS, COMPUTERS, ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT, APPLIANCES, FURNITURE, TEXTILES, CHEMICALS AND PRINTING, AND A LOT OF
OTHERS.
OK.
SO NOW, I WANT TO GO TO THE NEXT GRAPHIC, WHICH IS IN A COUPLE OF PARTS BECAUSE THIS IS THE GRAPHIC THAT TELLS YOU THE GUIDANCE THAT BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY THE C.D.C., THE
CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL, AND HERE THEY ARE.
ENCOURAGING TO BUSINESSES.
ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEES TO STAY HOME AND SICKENED SYMPTOMS, REQUIRED HAND HYGIENE AT WORK AND PERFORMING CLEANING OF WORK STATIONS AND EMPLOYEES CHECK C.D.C. TRAVEL NOTICES WHICH CAN
BE DONE ONLINE.
NOW, I'VE GOT A STORY TO TELL.
WE'VE GOT A -- WE'VE GOT A MASK HERE, IT'S AN N-95 MASK, THIS IS ONE OF THE GOOD ONES, BUT YOU CAN'T BUY THEM ANYMORE, OUT OF STOCK IN MOST PLACES.
I HAVE A STORY ABOUT MASKS.
KNOWING I WAS GOING TO DO THE SEGMENT.
I WENT TO MY LOCAL DRUG STORE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE TO SEE IF THEY HAD MASKS.
THEY DIDN'T.
THEY HAD BEEN SOLD OUT TWICE IN SUPPLIES, GONE IN A DAY EACH TIME AND I DECIDED, WELL, HOME DEPOT AND LOWE'S, THEY HAVE MASKS FOR DUST CONTROL, FOR THOSE THAT ARE IN A WORKPLACE.
SO I WENT TO SEE IF THEY HAD THOSE MASKS.
THEY WERE OUT OF MASKS ALSO AND ONE OF THE EMPLOYEES AT ONE OF THE STORES SAID WE HAD A GENTLEMAN COULD MANY IN HERE AND BUY FOUR CASES OF THE MASKS AND HE WAS FROM CHINA.
SO THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING, VERY INTERESTING.
THE MASKS, YOUR FOLKS IN HONG KONG, ARE THEY WEARING MASKS?
>> YES, THEY ARE, EVERY TIME THEY GO OUT.
IN FACT, I SENT A COUPLE OF MASKS TO THEM FROM THE SAME PLACE, HOME DEPOT.
IT'S A MATTER OF LIMITING OUR OUTDOOR CONTACT, SHOPPING LESS FREQUENTLY AND UNFORTUNATELY THEY'RE ALL IN AN APARTMENT 24/7.
>> THIS ECONOMICALLY COULD CHANGE THE WAY WE BEHAVE AND WORK AND ONE OF THOSE WAYS IS THE FLEXIBILITY OF EMPLOYEES AND BUSINESSES TO WORK FROM HOME, REMOTELY FROM HOME.
THAT IS HAPPENING ALREADY AND WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN EVEN MORE.
WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THIS, RUSS, IN THE DAY