Tokyo, March 5 (Jiji Press)–A private survey released Thursday showed that 94.8 pct of companies in Japan see or expect to see an impact from the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The figure rose 28.4 percentage points from the previous survey released on Feb. 20, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd., a private credit research firm, said.

The latest survey also showed that 67.2 pct of companies saw their sales fall from a year before in February.

Wholesalers have been especially hit hard by the virus crisis, with 61.6 pct of them already seeing an impact and 34.7 pct expecting to see an impact.

Many companies cited cancellations of events and business meetings, and falling customer traffic as effects from the outbreak.

In February, 19.7 pct of small and midsize firms saw a sales decline of 20 pct or more, while 13.4 pct of large companies had such a drop, according to the survey.

“Corporate performances have started deteriorating due to the spread of the virus,” a Tokyo Shoko Research official said.

The impact of the virus crisis “may deal a final blow to ailing companies,” the official said, indicating the possibility of the outbreak leading to bankruptcies and closures.

The online survey started on Monday. The results covered 10,408 companies which responded by Wednesday.