World Lockdown
As of now, most countries are following a strict quarantine or going on full lockdown. The United States has declared a state of emergency, with President Trump spending
$2 trillion in a stimulus package to bailout small businesses and citizens.
Italy has been in a national lockdown since March 9, with the country asking citizens to limit their outside endeavors as much as possible. India is about to go on a full
, closed-doors lockdown as well. People all over are practicing "social distancing," and some restaurants are in "carry-out" mode. They're not letting anyone sit, but they
are selling food to keep an income going.
All of this is likely to continue for a while until a vaccine develops. That said, some are already getting tired of it. President Trump
has hinted at scaling back restrictions to boost the economy, for example. It remains to be seen if other countries will take a similar approach.
Regardless, the economy is going to see the effects of this plague for years. While the
market is likely to recover, local communities are bound to lose some key companies, families will be impacted by the many deaths, and people's view on cleanliness is bound to change. After all,
hand sanitizer sales went up 255% this February in the United Kingdom. This caused some companies to limit hand sanitizer purchases to 2 per person. In Malaysia, over $237,176 worth of sanitizer was sold in one week.
This doesn't change the fact that this recession comes at a time where many are already struggling to make ends meet, and the planet is dealing with one of the most
divisive Presidents of the free world as well.
A few weeks after the first case appeared, a national quarantine was imposed and overall enterprise revenue fell by 80-90%. Company management was forced to make cuts, as well, leading to the massive jump in unemployment of about 1000%.
Due to this, enterprises are forced to operate on their previously accumulated funds, the duration of which may differ depending on the industry. Below is a graph from a JPMorgan
study with the title "Cash buffer days vary substantially within industries," using the USA as an example.