COVID-19, widely referred to as the coronavirus, is still generating alarm at an international level due to its rapid spread and the danger it represents for public health and safety worldwide; but the healthcare sector is not the only area being affected by the disease, as all international businesses are being affected by COVID-19.
A significant drop has already been observed in major European stocks; the Milan stock exchange fell almost 5.5% following the outbreak of the disease in Italy, making it clear that the coronavirus is having a much more immediate impact than had previously been imagined.
A global disease affecting business owners
In China, sales are down due to the population’s fears, and citizens in general are entering a defensive state which stops public or private resources from being invested into new business proposals that would enable the development of novel projects. Stopping the coronavirus is a priority, and this state of alert may soon be evident in the Middle East and in Europe due to cases seen in those regions.
From a coffee with your loving partner in Paris, to a night out with lifelong friends in Rome, or exploring the most sensual eroticism in Bangalore with call girls with amazing bodies, everything has taken a back burner given the danger of being exposed to COVID-19, which means that right now, business owners must be careful to manage their resources in order to protect partners and employees and develop new strategies at the right moments – once the coronavirus is under control and international business can make up the ground they have lost over the last few weeks.
Business owners also face new challenges with the coronavirus similar to those faced during the H1N1 flu epidemic, when many workers stopped going into work for fear of catching the virus. Following this, there was a considerable reduction in the consumption of products and services in certain sectors of the medium-high class.
With the coronavirus, this is only happening in the specific regions where social panic has erupted. It is occurring already in the city which is the epicentre of the disease, Wuhan, where a quarantine has paralysed almost all the city’s activities, and similar circumstances are playing out in certain locations in the north of Italy, where business are operating virtually behind closed doors.
Currently, business owners must protect their resources and be patient, ready to take the helm again once everything is under control. The coronavirus is undoubtedly a threat to public health, some of society’s most powerful means of combating it is prevention and the joint action of elements that enable greater education and knowledge in order to face COVID-19, and business owners are undeniably one relevant factor that can make a difference on an international scale.
Coronavirus stock photo by Lightspring/Shutterstock
