How is the CoronaVirus affecting the economy?

The famous coronavirus has become a very hot topic of debate in recent weeks; on 30 January 2020, the World Health Organisation declared an international health emergency due to the outbreak of the virus that has already infected more than 100,000 people so far and with more than 3,600 deaths worldwide, mainly in China, this virus has already spread to 100 countries.

Coronavirus is having a great impact, of course, negative on the economy and markets. The spread of this virus in the world could cause losses of hundreds of billions of Euros. Its spread has affected different sectors but the one that has suffered the strongest blow has been mainly tourism and all the sectors that depend on it, such as the hotel industry and airlines. This is due to people's fear of catching it when they travel. The airlines most affected are the low-cost airlines Ryanair and Easyjet, but the big ones also like the German airline Lufthansa which has canceled more than a third of its flights until the end of March due to a drop in demand; while the British Flybe announced its bankruptcy. Airlines could lose nearly $100 billion this year, and the tourism sector more than doubled.

About trade, China has been the world's most powerful supplier of goods for the last two decades. Currently, measures taken to stop the spread of the virus have drastically reduced its output, affecting the central banks of many countries which have lowered their interest rates to help deal with the fear of the situation on the financial markets.

But it has to be said that not everything is lost. The market for pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies has been greatly helped by the current search for vaccines that can treat the virus. Goods such as masks and disinfectant products have also had a shot at the market to the point that hand sanitizer gels have been sold out in several countries both in stores and online.

Moreover, the coronavirus is boosting the digital revolution because many countries have closed schools and administrations as China and Italy, which are betting these weeks on teleconferencing and teaching via the Internet to prevent infection and to contain the virus.