The Implications of COVID-19

The emergence of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) from China in 2019 has become a global threat in 2020. This has led to the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the virus a pandemic. The infectious virus has debilitating effects not only on a country’s most valuable resource – its human resource but also on the economies of the world. As a result of the rapid spread of the virus, countries have closed their borders, supply chains have been disrupted and local sectors have been significantly impacted or forced to shut down. The pandemic has moved from a worldwide health crisis to labor market and economic crisis.

THE CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)1.

Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will or have experienced respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. The elderly and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness or may die.

The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes. At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19.

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