If you haven’t heard much about Coronavirus, you’re not paying enough attention. Business leaders everywhere should have their eyes on the news right now because Coronavirus isn’t just something that affects our seniors and our vulnerable communities; it’s affecting businesses in a big way.
As if it’s not enough that there are thousands of lives being lost to this virus, people just aren’t taking it seriously. It now means that cities and entire countries are being isolated and locked down for weeks at a time. The knock-on effect of this is that businesses are suffering. With employees being furloughed on 80% pay and high street stores shutting down, the global economy is taking one big hit. People are panicking and asking questions: how will I pay my rent? How will I pay for my staff? Will senior citizens get a stimulus package to help them survive? Coronavirus’s fallout is causing ripples across the world, and there have been studies that show that this virus could impact the business to the point that over 5 million of them could be shut down worldwide. Those are huge figures, and with the general public still not taking it seriously, cities everywhere are not flattening the curve.
The countries most affected by Coronavirus are those that are part of the strongest economies in the world. More than 90% of the businesses in China have been affected, and almost 50% of the companies in Hong Kong have been affected, 19% in the U.S, and more. With high street stores closing to stay safe during the pandemic, people cannot shop and spend money on them. Employees cannot work enough to earn money for their families. This has a huge ripple effect on businesses that are struggling to survive. Many different companies around the world have gone into administration as a result of the economic hit they’ve taken due to Coronavirus.
The brightest minds around the world are trying to find a cure or a vaccine immediately so that we can get back to something resembling normality and reduce the spread of the virus to other places around the world. Countries have implemented safety precautions at their ports and borders, and people are being asked to quarantine for two weeks on arrival in a new place in most countries. If the leaders of the world hope to move through this with minimal damage to businesses, people need to heed the advice: Stay at home. Unless the movement is essential, there is no need to go out anywhere. The longer we stay in at the same time, the faster the virus dies off.
If you are running a business, pay your employees to work from home where you can. If the advice is to be at home to be safe, be the person who keeps their employees safe. The more we do it together, the more our vulnerable and our seniors are going to stay safe. We’re only in it together if we’re all taking it seriously – so let’s do that and get through it.
