Coronavirus and COVID-19 Alert: Economy, Job Loss, Symptoms and Safety Tips

Coronavirus and COVID-19 Alert: Economy, Job Loss, Symptoms and Safety Tips

The scare of Coronavirus has become huge. After China, the virus is spreading in other parts of the world rapidly. Coronavirus and COVID-19  will have broad-ranging effects in the year 2020. We already see the massive panic in the world about the virus and its treatment and travel ban.

In this blog, we will be discussing Coronavirus and COVID-19 and its impact on job loss, economy, symptoms, and safety tips. The virus has already started to show its adverse effects. Hence, having all the knowledge related to Covid-19 will be much helpful.

What is Coronavirus?

The WHO report states, Coronaviruses are a family of viruses known for causing illness that range from the curable common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS-CoV) & Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The new virus, now officially called Covid-19, is highly dangerous. It is also known as novel Coronavirus or (nCoV) that hasn’t been identified in humans previously.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of 104 strains of the COVID-19 virus separated from patients in different localities with symptoms onset between the end of December 2019 and mid-February 2020 showed 99.9% homology, without a significant mutation.

What are the Coronavirus and COVID-19 symptoms?

This virus is airborne & specifically targets the respiratory organs of the human to enter & cause infection. 

The WHO says Covid-19 is a zoonotic virus, meaning they can easily transmit from animals to humans.

Coronavirus symptoms include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties.

Corona Virus Symptoms

In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death. 

In some rare cases, infected people spread the virus even before showing the symptoms of the disease, making the infection even more deadly than imagined before.   

These are some of the Coronavirus symptoms that people need to be very careful about while coming in contact with any person.

As coronavirus cases in India are spreading, we are explaining COVID-19 symptoms in Hindi.

कोरोनावायरस और COVID-19 लक्षण क्या हैं ?

कोरोनावायरस प्रभाव के लक्षणों में श्वसन संबंधी लक्षण, बुखार, खांसी, सांस की तकलीफ और सांस लेने में कठिनाई शामिल हैं।

अधिक गंभीर मामलों में, संक्रमण से निमोनिया, गंभीर तीव्र श्वसन सिंड्रोम, गुर्दे की विफलता और यहां तक कि मृत्यु भी हो सकती है।

कुछ दुर्लभ मामलों में, संक्रमित लोग बीमारी के लक्षणों को दिखाने से पहले ही वायरस फैलाते हैं, जिससे वायरस पहले से भी अधिक घातक हो जाता है।

ये कुछ कोरोनोवायरस लक्षण हैं जो किसी भी व्यक्ति के संपर्क में आने के दौरान लोगों को बहुत सावधान रहने की आवश्यकता होती है।

घबराहट होने से स्थिति और खराब हो जाएगी, इसलिए कृपया सुरक्षित रहने के लिए सभी सावधानियों का उपयोग करें।

How did the coronavirus transmission start?  

It all started from a market in Wuhan, China, which is known for selling live wildlife animals.   

In this market, live animals were kept & butchered for selling purposes. Apart from that, both the buyers & sellers used to maintain low hygiene standards.

Moreover, all such animals were also densely packed that increased the risk of coronavirus transmission.

Coronavirus transmission happens through droplets or fomites during unprotected proximity between the infector & the infectee.

To date, WHO scientists are not able to identify the animal source of the outbreak, hence making it difficult for them to work on a cure successfully.

There are no reports on an airborne spread for the Covid-19 virus.

How does the virus gets transmitted from person to person?

Person to person transmission of this virus is occurring mostly in families living in a closed cluster. The study of the joint mission states that 344 clusters involving around 1308 cases(out of 1836 reported cases) in Guangdong & Sichuan province, where most groups around 78-85% are affected, have all occurred in families.

Coronavirus and COVID-19 Safety tips

There are certain sets of Coronavirus Safety tips prescribed by WHO that will keep you as well as others away from infection. Please follow the effective Coronavirus prevention techniques to stay safe:

preventive measures from coronavirus

Source: WHO

  1. Wash Your Hands Frequently

Yes, washing your hands frequently with an anti-bacterial hand gel made up of alcohol or just washing them with soap & water regularly will keep the germs away, including Covid-19.

  1. Maintaining Social Distance For Avoiding Close Contact

Maintain more than one-meter distance from the person who is coughing or sneezing. By doing so, you will stay safe from inhaling the harmful droplets coming from the cough or sneeze of the infected person.

  1. Please Avoid Touching Your Eyes, Nose & Mouth

While working or moving, our hands come in contact with numerous surfaces such as elevators, doors & windows containing viruses.

Once contaminated, our hands can transfer the virus directly to our eyes, nose, or mouth. From there, the virus can easily sneak inside our body without being detected.

4. Practice Respiratory Hygiene At All Times

Please ensure to follow good respiratory hygiene along with all other people around you. It means covering your mouth & nose with your bent elbow that will prevent the spread further.  

You can also use tissue papers while coughing & sneezing. After use, disposing of tissue paper is a wise thing to do.

By practicing good respiratory hygiene, you are easily able to protect yourself as well as saving many others from deadly infections such as Covid-19.

Practice Respiratory Hygiene At All Times

5. Seek Medical Care Immediately 

Call for immediate medical attention in case you start experiencing cough, fever, or breathing difficulty. Isolate yourself from the rest of all the members of your family & the public.

By calling local health officials after noticing your symptoms, you will not only get the most up to date information about the situation in your area but also get directed to the nearest health facility dealing with the infected people of the virus.

  1. Stay Informed At All Times & Follow Guidelines Of Healthcare Professionals.

Always stay informed on all the news related to Coronavirus update via news channels & the internet.  

Apart from that, also follow all kinds of advice given by your health care provider from national & local health authority or employer on how to stay protected from Covid-19.

  1. Wear Protective Mask

For your safety & personal hygiene, also use an anti Coronavirus mask at all times while venturing out.

Note The above-given guidelines are some of the Coronavirus and COVID-19  safety tips prescribed by WHO.

Download HandWash and Handrub posters from WHO.

                    howtohandwash  howtohandrub

  1. Handshake to Namaste

People around the whole world have finally accepted to say Namaste instead of using hand gestures such as a handshake because of Coronavirus scare. One of the most significant examples is the viral videos of President Donald Trump & Prince Charles using the Indian greeting ‘Namaste’ to greet others.

Coronavirus Impact on economy & Job loss

The spread of Coronavirus had already started to show its impact on the economy & Job loss all over the world.

The British airline Flybe took the hit due to the spread of the virus.

James Goodall said that the collapse “will likely be the first of many in 2020,” Transport Analyst, Redbus Airlines.

We expect that the demand destruction caused by Covid-19 accelerated its demise, and we believe further airline bankruptcies should be expected in the coming months.

IATA Economics has predicted that airlines could lose up to $63bn to $113bn in revenue due to low passenger traffic due to virus scare.

limit spread

Source: IATA Economics

Extensive Spread

Source: IATA Economics

 

Anheuser-Busch InBev famous for making beverages like Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois beers became the latest casualty of the scare. 

The company reported losses of $170 million in the past two months after the coronavirus outbreak.

Car rental giants like Hertz Global Holdings and Avis Budget Group Inc. also lost to Coronavirus fallout when their shares suffered a double-digit loss.

The hospitality industry has been hit abominably since the Coronavirus.

The sharp decline in occupancy rates in Italy, the graph shows the growth in the COVID-19 cases occupancy rates has fallen drastically in the past three weeks. The growth forecast of the hotel industry will be slow in the coming quarters.

 

COVID-19 cases in Italy.

Source: STR

Year-over-year change in weekly US travel sales

Source: Earnest Research

Major Events cancelled Amid coronavirus outbreak

Source: Statista

 

Apart from these significant events shown in the map above, postponed. There are events from other fields, also showing closed doors.

Coronavirus spread caused the cancellation of Italian Serie A football, All soccer games in the region have been postponed.

Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund played without fans because of the spread of COVID-19.

The NBA has suspended its season after one of their players for Jazz testing positive for the virus.   

Australian Grand Prix 2020 got canceled due to coronavirus scare.

Hollywood got affected, the release of the James Bond movie, ‘No Time To Die’ is delayed by seven months due to Coronavirus break. 

Cultural events throughout Europe got canceled or postponed for an indefinite period. For example, Ireland’s government has withdrawn all St. Patrick’s Day parade. 

Most of the employees of high-profile companies in the world are asking their employees to work from home to prevent the spreading of Coronavirus.

The Coronavirus outbreak impacts job loss for people across the globe.

Individuals such as teachers, hotel managers, bartenders, and many others who come in contact with children or customers have to stay at home or work from home. 

Schools, colleges, and universities are closed in some parts of Italy, the UK, the US, South Korea, Japan, and Iran.

The Coronavirus is keeping Millions of kids out of schools

Source: Statista

Such a move is putting a strain on institutions, where these employees are working. 

Furthermore, it is also getting challenging for the employers of small scale businesses such as restaurants & shops when their employees fall sick or apply for paid sick leave. 

If the Covid-19 spread at this pace, there will be layoffs.  

  • Boeing freezes hiring over MAX737 and Coronavirus Outbreak.
  • Norwegian Airlines is going to cancel thousands of flights along with temporarily laying off about half of its staff because of the coronavirus outbreak.
  • Industries directly depend on the supply chain of china as its called the World factory.
  • Job cuts will be there in the Travel industry such as cruise liners and hotel industry and airlines because of severe downfall in the flow of tourists.  
  • The manufacturing sector also may see some job cuts in the coming quarters if the pandemic spreads due to the fall in imports of raw materials from China.
  • Companies that have low revenues may go for layoffs.
China's Manufacturing Plummets Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Source: Statista

 

Impact Of Coronavirus On Global Stock Markets and Economy.

Apart from jobs & businesses, it has also affected stock markets severely. 

Global stock markets are also showing some sharp reactions as investors around the world are worrying about the widespread effects of Coronavirus.

Due to the outbreak, the world economy has already started to slow. 

Just go through the charts & maps given below to have a deep understanding of the effects of the virus on the global stock markets.

The Dow Jones dives nearly 1500 points after an 11-year bull run. While closing on March 11, Wednesday, at 23,553.22, it dropped to 1464.94 points.

Stock Markets Drop as Global Coronavirus Spread Continues

Source: Statista

Indian Stock markets tumbled in the past two months. 

In the first two months of 2020, Nifty lost over 50% of its stocks & Sensex lost around 10-40% of its share value.  

Sensex came down to 33,471 from 41,915, as recorded on January 14, 2020. 

The top losers on Sensex are Axis bank, SBI, Hero Motocorp, ITC & Larsen. 

On Nifty, its Yes Bank, BPCL, Axis Bank, Vedanta & UPL.  

Stock Market SENSEX

Source: Trading Economics

 

United States 10-Year Bond Yield

Source: Trading Economics

 

Economist on Yield-curve, Campbell Harvey warns about the impending recession by saying coronavirus “completely changed the story” for the US economy.

US 10-year-old treasury bonds are dropping after a Coronavirus outbreak. In history, it’s the first time yield curve below 1%. Another reason is the pricing war between OPEC and Russia.

pricing war between OPEC and Russia

Source: Statista

Oil crashes by most since 1991 as Saudi Arabia launches price war.

Saudi Arabia took advantage of the crippling situation arising due to Coronavirus by launching a price war against the onetime ally Russia.

Traders are preparing for the worst as Saudi Arabia is also planning to flood the market with its crude to recapture the market share & control the oil trade around the world.   

The 2020 coronavirus outbreak could shrink China’s economy by 1%-2%

Believe it or not! This outbreak is going to wreak havoc on the Chinese economy brutally. 

The domestic economy of China started to show significant signs of slowdown from February 1. 

All the international brands started to close their stores and branches all over China to protect their respective employees from the outbreak. Even Apple was one of them. 

The situation started to worsen after Coronavirus went global and begun to affect the demand & supply chain all over the world, further straining the manufacturing factories of China that led to shutdowns & mass firings.   

 

What are employers doing to protect their employees from Covid-19?

When Covid-19 started striking all over the world, it forced people from every field to not only react but fight the virus in every best way possible including the private organizations from across the globe are as follows:-

Google’s top management has instructed all its employees located in the US and Canada to work from home until April 10, 2020, for containing the spread of Coronavirus. 

There were also restrictions on Google employees from flying abroad.

Twitter has also given similar orders to all its employees on March 2, 2020, to work from home as it is one of the best ways to fight the scourge of this virus.

Facebook, to date, has taken the most significant decision to restrict all social visitors to its offices to stop the spread of infection. They have smartly decided to conduct job interviews through video conferencing.

Flipkart is currently sanitizing all its offices in India & advising its employees to work from home.  

What are World Governments doing to protect their citizens from Covid-19?

All the world governments have resolved to take some strong measures to counter the outbreak. Here are some of the steps taken by major governments of the word shown below

USA: The Trump administration has banned all travelers from Europe to the US for 30 days to stop the spread of the virus. 

India:  The Indian govt has stopped issuing visas to foreigners coming from all over the world. The travel ban will start to take effect today. As Coronavirus cases in India are increasing rapidly, as a precautionary measure, seven state governments ordered to shut malls, schools, and large gatherings till march 31, 2020.

Italy: Government authorities in Italy took some strong measures by ordering the closure of all schools, colleges, & places where public gatherings take place in large numbers except pharmacies & supermarkets.

Spain: The entire Spanish government went for testing for Coronavirus after a minister got exposed to it. Apart from that, it has also postponed all the football matches after Real Madrid Football Squad went into Quarantine.  

UK: The United Kingdom has pledged to spend an extra 46 million pounds to fight the virus. Besides that, the British government is also making serious efforts to find a cure to beat the illness.   

The Republic Of Ireland, Denmark & Iran, and many others have joined hands in closing all schools, offices & numerous other public places for restricting mass movements of people for combating the outbreak effectively.

How can Coronavirus be treated?

Officially, there is no cure against Coronavirus until now. But tests are being conducted in numerous parts of the world to find Coronavirus vaccinations & drugs.

Now, when it comes to preventing the spread of the now-infamous Coronavirus, China takes the lead in containing the virus more successfully because of a slew of Anti-coronavirus drills.

Locking down Wuhan & all the nearby major cities on January 23, 2020, was the first significant step of the Chinese government to contain coronavirus transmission. Effectively putting more than 50 million people under Quarantine prevents the virus from spreading. 

People from other parts of mainland China also voluntarily quarantined themselves to help the government & health officials in fighting this invisible enemy. 

Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, Chinese authorities created two dedicated hospitals in Wuhan in a week. 

The government also sent healthcare professionals in large numbers to Wuhan to fight the disease and to find the cure.  

The Chinese government also launched a massive effort to trace contacts of all the confirmed cases. 

Aggressive social distancing measures were also harshly implemented, such as shutting theatres, giving schools extended breaks. 

Even color coding for every person is in place for identifying who can be allowed to move or not.

Due to the massive efforts implemented by China for Combating coronavirus threat, the confirmed cases have reduced to single-digit according to the latest WHO report. 

The below image of the Coronavirus map clearly shows all the current updates around the world. 

Coronavirus map clearly shows all the current updates around the world.

Source: Johns Hopkins University

 

Until March 13, 2020, The coronavirus death toll reached up to 4,720. Hubei, China topped the list with 3056 deaths in hand. 

The coronavirus death rate in other places around the world, such as Italy, stands at 827.

The total number of people recovered after getting the Coronavirus treatment is around 68, 324. 

Is it safe to travel?

Currently, it is not safe to travel anywhere around the world, especially to COVID-19 hit countries.

You have to contact your local health authorities on issues regarding traveling abroad. 

Till the time, the World Health Organization & many other disease control agencies of the world will hopefully come up with a cure.

All travelers must travel only when it is a compulsory work-related issue. Otherwise, any form of non-essential travel is an unnecessary risk at this time. 

Airlines all over the world have steeply reduced the number of flights after the commencement of the outbreak.

Conclusion

It is impossible to say when the disease is going to die out. But according to senior officials of WHO & CDC, its current speed & trajectory predicts that it is going to spread around the world, infecting many more people.

For winning against COVID-19, the whole world must pool all their resources, medical expertise & understand more properly how this virus strikes its victim.

Coronavirus impact on the economy & job loss is effecting both the employers & the employees. Jobs have a deep connection with the growth of the economy. If growth declines, then it will have a significant impact on employment as well. Now, the same thing is happening because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Getting panic or creating panic is not going to solve the issue for anybody. Hence our helpful advice is to stay calm & heed all the vital inputs of the health authorities properly.

Moreover, please don’t indulge in overbuying of masks & sanitizers that might create the problem of scarcity for others in this hour of need.

Let’s be hopeful that after the worst part of the outbreak is over, things will slowly get to normal, but people will drastically bring some changes in their current lifestyle.

Most importantly, companies around the world will take all kinds of precautions to do business safely. 

If you have any queries on COVID-19 symptoms and safety tips or any new information to share with us, please do contact us by writing to us.