The economic cost of the pandemic will be enormous

The coronavirus could cost the global economy the equivalent of over a trillion dollars (USD) in lost income if it reaches global pandemic levels, according to estimates from the financial forecasting and analysis firm Oxford Economics. This would represent over a 1% reduction in the global gross domestic product relative to projections made before the disease outbreak. The coronavirus had already created serious disruptions to the global economy by early 2020. Because the disease outbreak originated in China, which has the world's second-largest economy and largest manufacturing sector, the coronavirus had an immediate impact on global supply chains. The stock market also fell dramatically toward the end of the month of February 2020, undergoing its fastest decline since the Great Depression in the last week of that month. Even the world's largest company in 2019, Apple, was affected. Apple issued a press release on February 17, 2020, indicating that their revenue projections would be diminished both by supply problems and by decreased demand due to widespread store closures across China.