Coronavirus Epidemic And Its Impact
From the Chinese city of Wuhan, the capital of central China Hubei Province to the first confirmed news in India to almost 6000 stuck on a cruise – the Coronavirus outbreak is spreading and certainly has created unchained events. The infection reports have been coming from all geographic direction of Asia, Europe, North America, and other countries.
Several governments have started evacuating its citizens from Coronavirus struck regions. In addition to this, preventive measures are put up by ensuring the medical checks at each entry and exit point. Airport screenings are undertaken by many other countries to prohibit the widespread of the virus.
Amid such an outbreak, it is bound that many industry verticals will face a meltdown, for example, manufacturing, food & beverages, Airlines, etc. Major companies such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, and more have reported suspending operations. The transport and logistics industry isn’t one to be left behind while determining the impact of Coronavirus on the regional & global supply chains. Industry leaders, transport and logistics operators, investors, governments, and many more are concerned due to the apparent reason for virus containment.
Many supply chain management teams have started assessing the risk and the potential disruption causing the industry. The focus is kept on the affected area with the impact size towards either product demand or supply networks. With the complete plan of action put up by many within the supply chain, risk management has begun to identifying key affected areas of exposure or disruption. Those with predictive & advanced analytics and autonomous capabilities will be in the position to derive quantifiable results keeping the product supply and its financial impact in mind.
This remains one of those times when nothing could be said and done until the fog of Coronavirus clears. However, one is foreseeable that if we do not take necessary action to prevent it now, the epidemic might cause more disruption activity between trading partners around the world. This may very well be a possible risk to the world economy. But for now, indeed, the Coronavirus has shut down much of the nation and further slowing down the Chinese economy – the world’s second-largest.
Stock prices have come down, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed barely higher suggests a more significant influence of Coronavirus on the economy. On the contrary, it is still expected that the global economy will rebound if safety measurements and precautions are implemented.
Meanwhile, we could only confirm that the impact of Coronavirus on the transport and logistics industry is yet to be determined accurately. Temporarily shutting down all the non-essential international travel and performing regular health checkups should be the prime focus as of now for virus containment.
Sources:
https://inshorts.com/en/news/indias-first-case-of-coronavirus-confirmed-in-kerala-1580372444417
