Google Searches Spike For 'Corona Beer' On The Back Of Coronavirus Outbreak

A new report from Google revealed a spike in searches for Corona beer as a result of the public trying to learn more about the coronavirus outbreak in China.

As news about the coronavirus has spread, Google searches relating to the virus has exploded in the last week. Google tweeted out the top five global searches relating to the virus, which include “what is coronavirus” and “how to prevent coronavirus.”

Google also shared that the name had caused a spike in search traffic about the Mexican beer had experienced a surge in the past week. Google Trends calculated “corona beer virus” and “beer virus” were the two highest searched terms in the U.S. and highlights people’s confusion over the name.

North Carolina, Indiana, New Mexico, Tennessee, Nebraska and Kansas had the highest concentration of searches for “beer virus.” Oregon, New York, Connecticut, Virginia and Kentucky had the highest concentration of “corona beer virus.” Other states like Arizona, Washington, Texas and Florida sat closer to a 50/50 split.

Corona’s parent company, Constellation Brands, has not commented about the surge in searches.

Despite the name, coronavirus shares no relation to the popular cerveza.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention describes the coronavirus as a “mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses, like the common cold.” Four of the most common forms of coronavirus include 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1 and can cause symptoms like a runny nose, fever, cough or sore throat. Two of the more severe forms are MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, both of which could lead to pneumonia.

China has been grappling with an outbreak of coronavirus in the Buhei province, especially in the city of Wuhan. Over 6,000 cases have been confirmed in the province and over 120 deaths have been reported as a result of the coronavirus.

The CDC was also tracking five confirmed cases in the U.S. and has been monitoring for more possible cases.