Brown-Forman, the owner of Tennessee whiskey brand Jack Daniel’s, has announced a temporary suspension of tours, tastings and retail shops at all its distillery and winery locations due to Covid-19 coronavirus.

The company notes that, with this initiative, it intends to minimise the risk of virus spread to its guests, employees, as well as the communities it operates in.

Jack Daniel’s brand owner Brown-Forman explains that the closures will be in place until the health emergency subsides.

However, the company notes that despite the suspension of tours and tastings, the production activities at its facilities will continue to operate as usual, and there would be no interruption in production activities.

The outbreak of Coronavirus or Covid-19 has impacted global wine, spirits and beer industry across the globe.

Some of the major players in the industry that have suspended tours of facilities and wineries include Beam Suntory, William Grant & Sons, as well as Irish whiskey distilleries Jameson and Teeling.

Beam Suntory notes that it has temporarily cancelled public tours at its distilleries due to the outbreak as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 and this cancellation will be active until 31 March.

So far, the Covid-19 death toll has crossed 6,500, as of the end of 15 March.

The total number of confirmed cases has increased to more than 169,000 while recoveries stand at around 77,000.