Coronavirus outbreak: Starbucks closes half of all stores in China due to deadly virus

Starbucks has closed half of its Chinese stores in a bid to protect its staff and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The coffee shop giant has 4,300 outlets in China, its largest market outside the US, which accounts for 10 per cent of the company's global revenue.

As a result of the outbreak, Starbucks has not upgraded its profit forecast amid fears the outbreak will negatively affect its economic performance.

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said the chain is responding “in a thoughtful and responsible way to protect our partners and support health officials and the government as they work to contain this public health risk”.

The announcement is the latest in a series from global companies responding to the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed 132 people.

Toyota, the Japanese carmaker, has shut its Chinese production plants until 9 February in compliance with lockdowns imposed by Chinese authorities.

Both Facebook and Apple have cautioned against travel to China, while McDonald’s has closed restaurants in five locations.

The majority of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in the Hubei province have also closed for the foreseeable future.

The death toll from the infection has reached 132, while China has seen at least 5,974 cases since it first broke out.

Hundreds of foreign nationals are flying out of Wuhan, where the outbreak first began, while around 56 million people are on lockdown due to the spread of the virus.

The US and Japan have already evacuated citizens with other countries quickly following suit.

The UK Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel, with British Airways suspending all direct flights to and from mainland China.