SEATTLE—The coronavirus outbreak has largely emptied Seattle’s usually busy downtown streets after Amazon and other companies told tens of thousands of people to work from home. That means far fewer customers for restaurants, shops, and other businesses.
The Seattle area is dealing with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the country, with at least 22 deaths, and businesses are bracing for the cascading effect of losing customers for the foreseeable future. Hotel bookings dropped as big conventions, including the Emerald City Comic Con, were canceled or postponed.
