Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak
The year 2020 brought so many positive changes to the industry. However, the news of the sudden outbreak of coronavirus has become a serious crisis not just for the industry but for the whole world. The impact of the Coronavirus Outbreak can be gauged from the fact that the WHO has declared it a Global Medical Emergency.
The virus which mainly initiated from China last year in December is now spreading to many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as Australia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East. The cases found outside China are basically of those people who have recently traveled to China. The situation is grave; as of 7 February 2020, 31,500 cases have been confirmed, including in every province-level division of China.
(For latest update as of today, here is the link to World Health Organisation (WHO))
What is Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)?
According to World Health Organisation, “Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans”
It is also known as the Wuhan Virus, the name derived from the city of Wuhan in China, where the first case of CoronaVirus was detected in the year 2019. This virus got spread from animals to humans. Later, it was confirmed that it can spread from people to people. After this confirmation, Coronavirus was declared as a global medical emergency.
Major Symptoms Of CoronaVirus
According to the WHO, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties are the major signs of infection. Tightness in the chest is another symptom seen among those found infected with the virus. In more severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, SARS, kidney failure and even death.
Impact of CoronaVirus Outbreak on Event Industry
The entire working on the event industry relies on face-to-face interactions. Since Coronavirus can spread from human to human, events have become vulnerable to the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak. This impact is more profound in the case of global events catering to attendees across the globe. Events are either being cancelled or postponed. However, organisers around the world are taking precautions to ensure safety and minimize risk to the audience. (Incase you have planned to attend or participate in any event, look for credible updates, and do not rely on a large number of fake and fear-mongering posts & videos)
Here’s a list of some immediate consequences of Coronavirus-
Major events which got cancelled as a result of Coronavirus
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Major Events postponed because of Coronavirus
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Apart from the events mentioned above, there are events like Singapore Airshow 2020 which will go as planned. These events have taken extra care and have made special arrangements to fight the infection. From the discussion so far, it’s obvious that the outbreak of Coronavirus has serious implications on the event industry. China’s MICE market has witnessed a significant boost in recent years, but the outbreak of the CoronaVirus has posed various challenges before the industry leaders of the region. It is now on its way to becoming a challenge for event professionals around the globe.
These are times when the world needs to come together as a community and put the health and safety of our people first. 10times is reaching out to all the event organizers appealing them to let us know if their events are postponed or canceled due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak so that we can help them put the message out to their visitors and exhibitors.
Let’s work together to help each other to contain this and face this calamity with joint hands to emerge successfully. We request all the event organizers to be vigilant and alert since events are a large group of people coming together with its important we understand the situation and take corrective measures.