The beginning
Starting with the cause for the future breakdown of the economy, let’s make a short overview of what the coronavirus really is. The COVID-19 started in China, a few months ago and it has spread with an unbelievable speed on other continents too. Currently, Romania is affected too and we are all aware of the problems that came with this virus. It is our responsibility to stop the pace of the virus as soon as possible. The doctors and scientists are trying their best to find out more about the structure of this virus and eventually to discover a treatment for it. There are already some researches that prove us there are similarities between COVID-19 and HIV. We all hope that the specialists will find a cure for humanity.
( Structural similarity between HIV-1 gp41 and SARS-CoV S2 proteins suggests an analogous membrane fusion mechanism, Date: 19.03.2020, Author: Xue Wu Zhang, Yee Leng Yap)
Until then, it is really important to stay safe and take care of us, because right now our health depends on one another. The way this virus is spreading is unbelievable and this is why we need to stay safe, to stay at home and to slow it down as much as possible. You can watch the cases on the following website, but the doctors say that there are probably more cases than the statistics show us. We need to stop all of this and the solution is not actually that hard as long as we stay at home and take care of our hygiene. The medical staff and resources are not unlimited. If we look at the case of Italy, the doctors are already overwhelmed. Let’s prove some responsibility and let’s make the work of the doctors easier!
(https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/, Date: 22.03.2020)
The impact on the economy
Going back to our field, the disaster that comes with the coronavirus will surely affect the whole global economy. It has already started. All over the world the restaurants, bars, clubs and other places besides the necessary facilities like supermarkets or pharmacies were closed and meanwhile many people are losing their jobs and the production is slowed down. The authorities had to take this measure and the people who do not respect it will pay huge fines. Coronavirus has a huge impact on the global economy. Every meeting, concert and party which involves a group of people was cancelled, even the events of the famous Disneyland. The people are paid less or they are getting fired and the employers clearly need to pause their businesses.
(https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/, Date: 22.03.2020, Date of the publication: 15.03.2020, Authors: Ben Casselman, Patricia Cohen, Stacy Cowley, Conor Dougherty, Nicholas Kulish, David McCabe and Karen Weise)
The tourism sector is one of the most affected sector and the coronavirus has already had a huge impact on the economy. It is expected that tourism movement will decrease by 25% because of all the flight cancellations, closed borders and other measures. The companies need to realize that the sooner we stop the virus from spreading, the faster they can recover their business.
(https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51852505, Date: 22.03.2020, Date of publication 13.03.2020)
What is happening right now?
Since the coronavirus has spread all over the world, it feels like the whole economy took a pause. The customers don’t buy stuff anymore, except basic needs. They can not go to malls or restaurants anymore. The budget of all sectors stopped growing and it can drop to its slowest rate since the year 2009. This is a real problem for all the producers and they have to find a strategy for long term. A strategy about what is going to happen with their business quickly and how they can save a least a part of it . The spreading of the virus depends on everyone, it is pretty sure that this problem will not be solved in the next weeks. Before every business goes down, the entrepreneurs need to think strategic and creative. They need to find solutions to keep delivering their products and not stop it for good.
(https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51706225, Date: 23.03.2020, Date of the publication: 20.02.2020, Authors: Lora Jones, David Brown and Daniele Palumbo)
what can the entrepreneurs do?
This is a hard time, the impact of the coronavirus on the economy makes all the sectors to slow down. For other fields, their personnel is working too much to protect people or to deliver them the necessary food. I think that the focus of the entrepreneurs is to do their best to maintain their activity. Closing the businesses down should be their last option. They need to be creative and work faster to implement new criteria such as home delivery or online services. The main purpose of this article is not only to describe the actual situation and the future consequences of the virus. This article is for all the business owners who face a hard time and are tempted to shut down their businesses. In our era, we always have more than one solution. With the desire of keeping a dream alive, we can get through this.
The good parts
As in any other circumstances, there are also exceptions. If we have a positive look, the pharmacies and supermarkets are still open and they have more and more customers each day. They tend to buy more than necessary, because of the fear that has taken over them. On the internet, we find images with empty stores and lines of people who buy too much food and medicine. The doctors need to work longer to deal with the patients in need. Their work is a must right now and they are focused completely on healing the people.
(https://www.retaildive.com/news/retailers-brace-for-the-impact-of-coronavirus/574346/, Date: 23.03.2020)
As a happy part, we can at least see the positive impact of the virus. All the places are cleaner now, the water is more clear and the pollution all over the world is decreasing. We can see this moment as a break for humanity, but a new chance for nature which has suffered because of us. Maybe this time it is our turn to be trapped and to let nature do the healing!
