Strategies for Sustainability of IE3H Sector in the COVID-19 Era

Introduction

Corona Virus Disease – COVID-19 is a virus pandemic that demands a very competent handling of the health care of the citizens. COVID-19 has taken all nations by surprise because of its wild fire spread. Corona virus is one of retro viruses with RNA genome. Corona virus 19 is the seventh virus that has structure with spikes, the spikes helping the virus to bind to the host cells. It is zoonotic virus which has mutated to a form that has resulted in the transmission of the virus through human contact. WUHAN is the epicenter of COVID-19 and it threatens the whole world with nations underprepared to face the attack. Highly organized advanced Nations like Italy, USA, NATO countries including UK find it difficult to tackle the pandemic because of lack of preventive measures. Medical Equipment, Ventilators, Face Masks, Sanitizers shortage have created a grim situation for ordinary people to get the needed health care. The doctors, nursing, paramedical and accessory health staff have taken the huge responsibility to provide the best medical care to the needy risking their own lives, all over the world (About Corona virus Disease, 2019).

The Covid-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the world economy. The global economic outlook was already fragile prior to the outbreak of the corona virus crisis. Initially, when the outbreak emerged in China, it was thought that the negative impact on the global economy would be small mainly limited to the output contraction in China and its knock-on effect on global supply chains, tourism, and commodity markets. However, with the rapid spread of Covid-19 across the world and the consequent imposition of containment measures and restrictions, all countries are experiencing severe supply and demand shocks that are independent of their links to global supply networks. In every country, the containment measures have adversely impacted all sectors of the economy to varying degrees. Production has plummeted, investment plans are being shelved, consumer spending has fallen sharply, and job losses have surged. Financial market sentiment has deteriorated, foreign direct investment inflows are dropping, and emerging market countries are experiencing large capital outflows. The global economy is now entering in a recession which is likely to be far deeper than during the Global Financial Crisis in 2009. The COVID-19 outbreak has brought the world to an almost complete halt.

Dreams of a double-digit growth can wait for another day. The worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus disease underlines the extent to which countries are interconnected and co-dependent. Despite determined global efforts, collective action and scientific progress made to mitigate COVID-19 infection rates, there is still high uncertainty regarding the virus itself and when the safety measures imposed to reduce the spread of the virus will be totally and safely relaxed. As businesses remain shut and lockdowns are extended in efforts to contain the novel corona virus across the globe, experts fear that India may be staring at a global recession. Can any lessons be taken from the COVID-19 induced economic gridlock? How will the crisis affect large businesses and industries as well as the MSME sector? Should India be benchmarking itself with some nation in this economic revival? What will be the individual-level impact of the crisis? Is there an opportunity in the crisis for new industries to boom and present new employment opportunities? How are trends around travel, hospitality and tourism expected to emerge post-crisis? Can we speculate the length of this holding phase of the crisis?