THE Covid-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-century health crisis, the effects of which will be felt for decades to come.
This statement by World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu underscores the gravity of the situation at hand.
It is a grim prediction, and that was what economists had predicted as early as April this year.
Malaysians were advised to brace themselves for tough times then as the country was falling into a prolonged economic downturn that could be graver than previous recessions that it had suffered.
Economists then said that unlike previous recessions in the country, Malaysia’s recovery from the current economic downturn due to Covid-19 would be “at the mercy” of other nations.
They pointed out that virus-induced economic crisis could not be overcome by stimulus packages by us alone. It depended on whether other countries recover too, they said.
A former World Bank economist also cautioned that it could get worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s. “Whether the recession will deepen into a depression depends on what happens in the major economies of the world like China, the US, the Eurozone, Japan and some G20 countries,” he was quoted by theSun as saying.
If we look at the latest figures, we can see how badly affected these economic powers are.
The US economy shrank at a 32.9% annual rate between April and June, marking its deepest decline since the government began keeping records in 1947. The Eurozone has also suffered its deepest contraction on record, at 11.9% in the second quarter.
The global economy recovery is in danger of stalling, with a resurgence of infections in the US, Europe, the Asia-Pacific and India.
Japan is paying a heavy price for not enforcing a lockdown or movement restrictions to focus on its economy.
AFP reported that the virus has killed at least 680,000 people and infected at least 17.6 million since the outbreak last December.
Until we find a vaccine, the war against the virus will not be over. Until then, we have to relook how we are trying to stop the spread of the virus, keep businesses afloat and save jobs.
