Everything suddenly turned upside down when the deadly pandemic, named Coronavirus hit the world.
The news reports from China shook the complete world in December 2019 and alarmed everyone of the life-threatening virus which was rapidly spreading between humans and soon became a catastrophic global pandemic.
At present, the total cases count to 60.4 million and deaths around 1.42 million. The United States leading the list has 12.8 million cases and India, second in the list has 9.27 million cases. The virus originated in the city of Wuhan, China which has a population of nearly 11 million people.
Initially, the symptoms and the cure of the disease were unknown which created a state of confusion and panic all around. Though the cure is still unknown and the vaccine is yet to come, the symptoms as understood are very similar to flu which includes fever, dry cough, fatigue, pain, aches and nasal congestion. With time, other symptoms also emerged such as loss of smell and taste. These are yet not conclusive evidence and the World Health Organization is still investigating.
Severe cases might lead to respiratory diseases like pneumonia and the people most at risk are the elderly people or people with some medical issues. As per a study in March, 2020 14.8% of people were about 80 years old which compared with the people aged 40-49% was just 0.4%.
The evidence so far indicates that the novel coronavirus spreads from person to person via respiratory droplets like when a person coughs or sneezes. The droplets can also rest on the surfaces like metal or plastic for up to 3 days.
Many laboratories are working and researching on the COVID-19 vaccine and soon, the world may get good news.
COVID-19 has not just impacted the public’s health but has also drastically impacted businesses, financial markets and the global economy. The COVID-19 pandemic is set to result in the worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1920s.
Loss in Job, reduction and cut-off in income, business closures, reduced productivity disruption in services, transportation, manufacturing industries, hospitality are among the consequences that felt under the novel coronavirus. Small brands and retailers such as the business involved with the workforce, the supply chain, consumer demand, sales, marketing and cash flow faced a severe loss. Many businesses in the field of tourism and hospitality have been shut forever and no longer exist. Small start-ups have also frozen the hiring process. In the US, COVID-19 has led to 20.5 million job losses in April alone. According to a Reuters report, 36 million people have filed for unemployment benefits since March 21.
Apart from this, the outbreak of the global pandemic has caused bankruptcy to many well-known brands across the world as the consumers are staying at home and the economies are shut. Some famous companies in the US are under intense financial pressure. The most affected industry, the travel industry has been deeply affected and 80% of hotel rooms are vacant waiting for the guests. Airlines have cut their workforce by 90% and the tourist place sees no income in the year 2020. Due to the fall in traveling and holidaying, global activity has also been adversely affected. Oil prices fell in the month of March as the transport was hit during the lockdown in several countries. Transportation alone accounts for 60% of oil demand. The demand for industrial metals in China, US and Europe fell as the factories are shut down. IMF also projects a decrease in the food prices by 26% that led to the border delays and supply chain disruptions
Moreover, the conferences, seminars, sporting events, expos, cultural establishments such as museums, galleries, parties and other large gatherings were called off. Industries like the truck, car, electronic industries were closed. The personal services like the gyms, taxis, hairdressers also became still in lockdown.
The academics, institutions and universities were closed and the students rushed to their homes as early as they could. The academics also faced the financial crisis and many lost their jobs.
The behavior of the public also changed during the pandemic where people observed lockdown and were asked to maintain social distance. Based on the past experiences the public became conservative and the countries started stockpiling food, medicines equipment and other essentials. The demand for the product increased in comparison to supply.
Many businesses are struggling and some are thriving to cope up with the loss faced during the global lockdown. The online businesses related to food delivery, entertainment, online education and online shopping strived to keep up their business during the pandemic, though couldn’t make much profit. The only industry that was doing good was that of healthcare and medication.
Talking about the GDP, China’s GDP dropped by 36.6 % in the first quarter of the year 2020 and the GDP of South Korea fell by 5.5 %. The GDP of France fell by 21.3%, of Italy by 17.5% and of Spain by 19.2%.
Inspite of all the factors, some companies worked well in the market. Here are the top 10 companies that survived the global pandemic, COVID-19.
