“we are facing a human crisis unlike any we have experienced” and our “social fabric and cohesion is under stress.” — Amina J. Mohammed. (6)
Everyone is scared of COVID-19 and is afraid of being infected by the virus. Under the circumstance where each individual feels dreadful, what is our society suffering from?
“All countries need to review their strategies now,” says Dr. Michael J. Ryan, WHO Informal Advisory Group member. (5)
The current outbreak in Canada is not as dire as in the United States, but its population is not as intense as other countries such as China, India, and so on. Fortunately, the Canadian government took precautions at the very beginning, requiring elementary, middle to high school, and even universities to switch to online teaching. The government also shut down all business except hospitals and supermarkets ( life essentials). Then, the government strongly recommends that each person should stay home until COVID-19 ends.
This decision is uneasy for all of us because it has a significant effect on Canada’s economy.
“A new report from the Conference Board of Canada predicts that the COVID-19 impact will impact the county’s economy for years to come.” (4)
“In comparison with our baseline scenario, the bigger negative impact on the Canadian economy is the result of lower energy and resource investment, weaker exports, and a drastic decline in household spending.” (4)
(Figure 1) IMF forecasts for the annual percent change in real GDP for select countries
According to the chart above, professionals predict that the economy will shrink by 6.2% in 2020 because most Canadians have become jobless. (1) Although the government is giving citizens 2K per month to maintain their life, some small and middle businesses are still shutting down. (3) It sounds like 2K is sufficient, but what if you have mortgages? What if you have to pay property tax and maintain a fee without any positive income? What if you have to pay for your workers with a drop in clients? Overall, as the number of infected people increases, the economy will continue dropping.
As the drop in GDP, larger businesses such as transportation and warehousing, industries dependent on trade, also dropped 1.7%, and professionals predict it will keep dropping until COVID-19 ends. (3)
The best way to stop the spread of the virus is to reduce human contact, therefore, every country reduces the number of air transportation. “Air transportation declined 2.7 per cent, as movement of both goods and passengers decreased,” it read. (3)
“In the coming years, Canada and many other countries will need to deal with the economic fallout of COVID-19, which will likely leave households, governments, and businesses deeper in debt than they were prior to the crisis” (4)
Overall, the impact of COVID-19 on the economy is very large, from everyone to the whole country. During the epidemic, as a student, I didn’t need to go to school, as a working person, I didn’t need to go to work in the company, I was at home every day, which reduced the efficiency of people’s work. Traffic has also been reduced, from buses, subways, to airplanes. This series has slowed down our economy. (2)
Sources:
- https://www.thestar.com/business/2020/04/14/canadian-economy-to-take-massive-hit-from-covid-19-and-oil-will-see-largest-contraction-since-1921.html
- https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/04/08/covid-19-having-a-profound-effect-on-the-lives-of-canadians-survey-shows.html
- https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html?topic=tilelink
- https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2020/03/25/report-covid-19-will-have-long-lasting-effects-on-canadian-economy/
- https://www.ehstoday.com/health/media-gallery/21126031/8-quotes-from-the-world-health-organizations-covid19-media-briefing
- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-action-call-8-apr/
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