Abstract
COVID-19 has spread across countries throughout the world. This deadly virus has had devastating effects on government, society, healthcare, education, business, and the economy. As researchers and scientists throughout the world are searching for a cure, the virus remains deadly, and the infection rate is on the rise. SMEs throughout the world have been affected by this global pandemic. Since many countries imposed lockdown, SMEs were one of the most vulnerable in the business sector and suffered some devastating financial losses. During COVID-19, lockdown Stage 5 in South Africa occurred, where many SMEs that were non-essential were asked to shut down during this period.
TopBackground About Covid-19
The biggest pandemic known to man is COVID-19. It is worse than the 1918 Spanish flu that claimed many lives internationally. According to Worldometers (2020) globally COVID-19 has claimed to date over more than a million peoples’ lives. The world of small business as we know it has been changed by the COVID-19 pandemic that has encompassed businesses globally. In this section of the chapter the researcher will briefly look at what is COVID-19 and talk around its inceptions. The pandemic started in the Chinese Wuhan city. The outbreak of the case of chronic pneumonia cases in the Chinese Wuhan city of the Hubei province has been a center of attention globally. This has been where the virus first emanated from. The unknown virus was first detected in December 2019 and subsequently identified as the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), based on the symptoms and the laboratory test results (Huang, Wang, Li, Ren, Zhao, Hu, Zhang, Fan, Xu, Gu & Cheng, 2020: 497-498).
To date scientists and doctors and the best medical minds in the country are working tirelessly to develop a possible vaccine. However, since the virus has mutated so many times and the effects of COVID-19 on the different world populations are varied, has added to the strain on finding a cure or possible vaccine for this virus. At the moment various countries are working on possible vaccines, but they still in trial phase.
To cope with this pandemic, there has been a change in the way business, hospitals, schools, and all areas of society have to operate. To prevent infection and curb the infection rate, wearing of masks, sanitizing ones hands, practising social distancing and staying home and minimising contact with crowded malls and other public spaces is very essential.
This chapter will explore COVID-19, that is its’ impact on SME’s, with specific reference to the South African context and provide a way forward, post-COVID-19.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Economy: Refers to a dynamic interplay of the variables in production, distribution and business and trade, as well as consumption of goods/services.
SMEs: Refers to small and medium term enterprises.
Consumer Behaviour: Refers to the study of why customers choose to purchase, use or dispose of products or services. Consumers’ behaviour is often regulated by their emotions.
COVID-19: Is the coronavirus that is causing the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Sustainability: This refers to SMEs remaining open and not shutting down and growing and evolving further post-COVID-19.