Disneyland and Starbucks close branches .. How do companies deal with corona virus?

The virus that makes the headlines continues to spread, with infections reaching about 15,000 cases, while deaths reached about 304 cases by the end of Saturday, according to the World Health Organization.

Indeed, the effects of this virus on commercial companies may be devastating. So what should companies do now?

In a report published by the American "Forbes" magazine, the author, Chloe Damrovsky, said that the markets are already declining because the epidemic is negatively affecting the global economy.

World Bank results indicate that a pandemic with the same severity as the 1918 flu pandemic could reduce global GDP by 5%.

Another study predicted income losses of more than 12% of gross national income worldwide, including losses of more than 50% of gross national income for low-income countries.

While some companies have prepared in advance for this crisis, there are institutions that are not prepared to respond to the epidemic, and epidemic preparedness programs suffer from a chronic shortage of personnel and adequate budget, because the spread of a pandemic is a low-risk risk in any given year.

Insurance models expect that the annual risk of a 1918 pandemic influenza pandemic, ranges between 0.5% and 1.0%.

The author stated that six epidemics throughout recent history have led to a high mortality rate between 0.03% and 0.08% of the world's population.

Today, this could be equivalent to between two and six million deaths globally, which is why governments are currently enforcing quarantine and social separation policies.

Decline of global companies
As a result of the travel ban and other measures, many international companies have begun to see a decline, as Disney closed its theme parks, Starbucks closed the doors of ninety of its stores, and woven into its styles like Kentucky, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.

These and other companies are working on carefully developing ongoing and sophisticated plans to ensure business continuity, as well as other special plans for pandemic preparedness, that will enable them to respond quickly to such disasters.

And many companies will impose restrictions on employee travel as a precaution, which may have long-term effects, and they will rely on coverage for outage insurance, and they must verify them to ensure that they are adequate, and they must review legal protection, including what are known as force conditions. Cairo.

Due to the Corona virus, the travel industry was particularly affected by the decrease in flights during the Chinese Lunar New Year season, which is usually the largest annual migration period in the world.

Many major hotel chains - such as HJ, Marriott and Accor - have waived the cancellation fee, and airlines have paid back the sums.

The largest travel agency in China - known as "Tripp.com" - offers free cancellation of hotels, car rental services and sightseeing tickets, and as a result its shares fell 18% last week in New York.

Preventative measurements
The virus is likely to have a devastating impact on global supply chains, as the policy of social divergence has been to keep factory employees in their homes and not come to work.

In contrast, many Chinese companies have asked their employees - who live in affected areas - to work from home, similar to Byte Dance and Tencent.

But remote working strategies with manufacturers, such as automakers and many enterprises that rely on production supply chains outside China, will not succeed.

As a result, companies that supply sensitive components from China should evaluate their stocks, consider storing supplies from countries at risk, and explore alternative solutions by searching for alternative suppliers.

The author stated that all companies should update their epidemic plans and speak with employees about the Corona virus and its risks.

In addition, companies must take social measures of distance by encouraging employees to work remotely.

In contrast, ordinary people should have a personal plan that includes knowing how to prevent the spread of infection, and buying their needs, such as foodstuffs, water, medicines and hygiene items such as face masks.