Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

Continue Reading Below

In the early days of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic, fast food restaurants saw a boost in foot traffic, but that trend has sharply reversed as the virus spread into a pandemic, according to Foursquare.

The data technology company found a “steep decline in visits’ to quick-service restaurants of about 10 percent starting around March 13-14, when President Trump declared a national state of emergency because of the virus. Foot traffic to the restaurants has continued to decline since, according to the company.

CORONAVIRUS FORCES CHEESECAKE FACTORY TO FURLOUGH 41K WORKERS

“Heeding advice from authorities to ‘distance socially’ and stay home except for essential activity, Americans are changing their behaviors considerably, with the patterns we saw last week becoming even more pronounced, country-wide,” the company wrote in a blog post.

Foursquare also found a decline in visits to sit-down dining chains since the start of the outbreak. From the week ending Feb. 19 to the week ending March 20, foot traffic dropped 47 percent, which the company attributed to social distancing.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

RESTAURANTS SELL ‘DINING BONDS’ DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

The decline has forced many restaurants to take drastic action. Many workers have been laid off or furloughed. Some restaurants have resorted to selling “dining bonds” in order to raise funds. Waffle House, which is used by some experts to gauge the severity of natural disasters, has closed hundreds of locations.

It’s been a totally different story for grocery stores and warehouse stores. They have seen steep increases in traffic, with warehouse stores peaking from March 13-17, according to Foursquare. Foot traffic to warehouse stores remains up 29 percent over the past month.

CORONAVIRUS CAUSES WAFFLE HOUSE TO CLOSE 365 LOCATIONS

Grocery stores spiked even more after the president declared a state of emergency. Foot traffic was up 34 percent over the past month, according to Foursquare.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS