The chronicles of Covid-19

Undoubtedly, with the emergence of a virus like the Covid-19, we have serious social and economic consequences. The first news that showed our fellow human beings are dying suddenly because of the coronavirus from a small town in China, Wuhan, shocked the whole world and remained forever in everyone’s memory without anyone knowing its easy spread around the world. One or two months later, the spread of the virus in Europe and around the world was a fact and it turned out that a special feature of the virus was its extremely easy transmission.

The world was changing and all human lives were facing death because of the corona. The first lockdown and quarantine were unprecedented on a global scale. Feelings of fear, wonder, insecurity and uncertainty about the future were now prevalent around the world while at the same time a great battle was beginning.

Unfortunately, the emotions we mentioned earlier were not limited, but they may have increased due to the rapid increase in coronavirus transmission and subsequent deaths, especially in Italy. The World Health Organization, as well as European health organizations, rushed to find solutions and ways to deal with it, even with the help of Chinese scientists. Intensive care units were then set up and preventive measures were taken to reduce or even eliminate transmission to date.

Life has changed and humanity is on a new path. One of the famous phrases is in my mind:

“Everything flows, nothing is left behind” – Heraclitus

Social effects of coronavirus spread

The social impact is related to the measures taken by governments.

• Postponement of sports activities and tournaments initially and then without the presence of the public resulting in a reduction in revenue for sports clubs and teams.
• Prohibition of international and national travel as well as cancellation of services.
• Postponement and eventual cessation of cultural festivals and religious events in almost every country in the world.
• Social distances with people who are not in the same residence.
• Closing of catering and tourism businesses as well as places of entertainment, sports, gyms, swimming pools, etc.
• Remote work
• Unemployed

The most difficult and important social impact was and is the difficulty of health care due to the increased demands for this disease. Simultaneously, this resulted in the neglect of patients with other diseases or even the difficulty in providing medical services. Every hospital or health service was suddenly overloaded. Healthcare professional face lot of difficulties in maintaining the quality of healthcare in these days.

We should point out that professions such as doctors, nurses have given and still give from time to time a great struggle in order to keep our fellow human beings alive.

A big thank you to everyone in the medical field.

Economic effects of coronavirus spread

In the financial sector we have had and still have a slowdown in the production of basic goods. Additionally, some important effects are:

• Discontinuation of the product supply chain
• Losses in national and international companies
• Poor cash flow in the global market
• Significant slowdown in revenue growth

It is worth noting that with the imposition of the lockdown we had a huge reduction in the demand of fuel, in formal clothes and in everything related to the routine of everyday life.

As expected, pharmaceutical companies participated in the global financial game almost where from the beginning of the pandemic they began to develop vaccines to stop the transmission of the coronavirus. The competition between the companies is very big, the time is short with the financial agreements waiting at European and global level.

The economic and social impact of Covid-19 is difficult to analyse in all aspects, as it varies from country to country due to different cultures and needs. For example, people in China find it easier to follow the measures of non-transmission of the coronavirus due to discipline.

In any case, there is an uncertainty that negatively affects the economic-business climate.

In this crisis, the importance of state intervention seems inevitable. Supporting the real economy, the stability of the financial system, but also ensuring social cohesion are key preconditions for weakening the economic impact of the health crisis.

On the other hand, the crisis can create new opportunities as health, product safety and environmental issues are expected to emerge as new priority lines and innovative ideas with new technology to be implemented. Small and medium-sized enterprises can be at the core of this change.