1- Work from home

You are more efficient and less stressed and you no longer need to move with public transport and face the traffic jam, now you can enjoy your moment with your family while doing your tasks safely from home.

2- Save money

With the lockdown we can no longer have the opportunity to go out and eat outside or doing shopping, because all activities are suspended, even our groceries are prepared in advance which helps us save some money.

3- Spend quality time with the family

Before lockdown we surely spent more time outside than with family (shame on us!) doing shopping or having “important” meetings.  Actually with lockdown we have to stay at home and enjoy time with our family and do a lot of activities together.

4- No more hypocrisy!

Let’s see the bright side of things, the Coronavirus has forced us to no longer kiss or touch someone to avoid the virus, so we can say goodbye – at least for now – at these times of embarrassment where you have to greet and sympathize with  people you don’t like, best excuse in the world and especially effective! “Sorry! Coronavirus”.

5- The environment thanks us

With limited travel, canceled trips and suspended activities, the earth has FINALLY been able to rest – hallelujah! – and even rare resources are no longer as threatened as before and no one can deny that Covid- 19 was able to help the environment.

6- Learn and do new things

You have certainly much time to spend, so you have to take advantage of it and learn as many things as possible: Playing the piano or the drums (without annoying your neighbors), learning new languages, registering for new courses, reading lots of books, start a career on Youtube … etc

7- Develop E-learning skills

Before lockdown everyone – or almost – would have asked the question: What is e-learning? Now everyone knows about it and all countries have been able to develop and use it easily to allow students to learn and acquire new skills safely.

There are certainly other advantages to this pandemic but let’s not forget that the virus is still there and it is necessary to be careful and avoid unnecessary meetings; we must wear your masks which has its own advantages too! To be mentioned in the coming article.

#STAY_HOME #STAY_SAFE

Author

• Naaoui Wassima

References

• https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/coronavirus-check-what-benefits-you-can-get/
• https://www.policycenter.ma/opinion/impact-coronavirus-environment#.X072zdwzaM8

Because of containment measures that were taken by the government transport, many companies are suffering from certain difficulties. A return to normal is not expected before 2021, or even 2022.

The sudden cessation of several activities in Morocco and around the world, means that Moroccan exporters are faced with a new and even unique situation. All air, land and sea supply chains are influenced by the spread of the new coronavirus-Covid19.

The economic sectors that have been impacted by the COVID-19

• The exporting pharmaceutical sector suffers from a stockout in the African market, explained by the fact that each export of medicine is now subject to authorization and a study on a case-by-case basis.
• The fishing sector is itself doubly affected by two factors: first, the biological rest at the start of the year and currently, the negative impact of the virus on the supply chain of raw materials upstream, which has a direct impact on export capacities.
• The agri-food sector, has just begun to stabilize in recent weeks after several problems concerning the drop in demand, late deliveries and the cancellation of several orders.

How to overcome the Covid-19’s impact on the supply chain management

In the future, the exporters must develop  their abilities to be fast, reactive and efficient and plan for uncertainties, they  must have a flexible business model to be able to change products if necessary, target markets to focus their  efforts on a particular segment, and diversify sources of supply to reduce uncertainty.

Investors also have to secure the production chains as much as possible and reduce their foreign dependence.

All sectors must invest in research and development to study all aspects of this crisis and put in place corrective measures to overcome its consequences.

Investors must also innovate and come up with interesting plans to continue to operate and improve the country’s economy.

The Moroccan government has to support small businesses, as it had put in place strong measures to fight the pandemic; these companies suffer currently from significant losses and cannot continue to operate.

Covid-19 remains a virus that has a very significant impact on logistics activities around the world, the global economy will recover soon, if the right decisions and commercial strategies are  well implemented, to improve the performance of these various sectors.

Author

OUAHDOU Yasmine

Between a health and economic crisis, the world is living a real ordeal passing through the commercial sector which endures a significant drop in trade (import and export) with 13% currently and 32% for the coming months. After the crisis experienced in 2008, the world economy opened its doors to each other to revive a perfect globalization, the covid-19 comes in this case to change things once again. This latter did not neglect the financial market with the creation of a financial storm causing the value of the shares to fall. How can this fall be explained? Firstly, as being a major or very influential element, the decline is explained by uncertainty, the markets abhor uncertainty, this doubt is simply the consequence of this pandemic; can the world predict the end of this pandemic? No response can be predicted.

Second major problem is related to the non-stability of the interest rate, a means on which the banks were relying to revive the financial sector is in sharp decline, which no longer allows the authorities to revive the economy, this is similar to entering to another world war signaling the protectionism animated by the United States that proves once again its egoism vis-à-vis other countries and more precisely China, its major competitor which is at the origin of the pandemic but also the Latin American and even its allies the European countries.

The logistics sector could not escape this crisis, and it is going through its most difficult moments, with the blocking of flight blockades and containment measures that are spreading worldwide, transport companies are encountering certain difficulties. A return to normal is not expected before 2021, or even 2022. For road transport, the confinement and closure of factories and shops have led to the stopping of most trucks and even to partial unemployment for their employees. Aside from food transportation, most companies have reported a drop in activity since containment, according to the National Road Transport Federation. For maritime transport, most countries in the world note that the activity of the main ports is generally normal. Except that incoming vessels must be identified according to their origin. The disruptions in maritime travel due to the health crisis have serious consequences for world trade. And that is measured by hundreds of thousands of containers. For air transport, it is considered among the first victims of Covid-19. It is noted that it suffers from the precautionary measures applied and the drop in demand. Since the beginning of April, most airlines around the world have been almost stopped. Air transport had not experienced such a slowdown for a long time. And in this situation, airlines around the world have turned to their governments. Several governments have announced strong measures, such as deferring the payment of taxes and fees for a specified period. Or grant direct aid to pay wages and pensions.

Tourism too has had its share of the poisoned cake: canceled trips, reservations, events and concerts, closed travel agencies and a lot of other damages. Asian tourism was naturally the first to be impacted and experienced huge losses in bookings since the virus first spread in China, particularly in Whuhan, an economic drama for these countries, since they live a lot from tourism, European countries have also been affected by this epidemic and therefore have also experienced a fall in the tourism sector, particularly in France, Italy and Spain which have become countries deserted by tourists. A concern which has also been pierced in Arabic countries who directly stopped the flights and closed the borders in order to avoid any sign of vulnerability and limit the intensive spread of the virus, and it is not just about travel but also the most important events, professionals meetings, public forums, etc. This stopped certain companies, or even prohibited them from performing their normal activities which brought down the economy of the countries.

Revenues from global tourism due to the Coronavirus have dropped to at least $ 22 billion and this is only the optimistic scenario because if the epidemic continues to spread for a long time it will cause a loss of up to 73 billion dollars and a drop in revenues for airlines of $ 30 billion. With all the efforts made by the governments of each country and the permanent presence of a sector which does not belong to the economy but makes enormous sacrifices to save humanity, which is the most important thing currently in all these difficult conditions that the world endures. When will the world see the light of day? When will the world economy once again blow out its candles not for birthday but for peace, cheerfulness and liveliness?

#STAY_HOME #STAY_SAFE

Authors :

• NAAOUI Wassima
• NAJI Rajaa
• NAJEM Salma
• NAJEH Amal
• NAHIL Youssef

References

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_tourism
• https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/03/11/coronavirus-travel-industry-could-lose-24-billion-in-tourism-from-outside-us.html
• https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/news/impact-covid-19-global-supply-chains
• https://www.iru.org/resources/newsroom/covid-19-where-road-transport-stands
• https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/the-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-shipping

There’s a very fine line between being helpful and flogging stuff on the back of a crisis” Ian Henderson, chief executive of ad agency AML Group.

Marketing Communication referes to “The means adopted by the companies to convey messages about the products and the brands they sell, either directly or indirectly to the customers with the intention to persuade them to purchase” (Businessjargons, 2016). It can also be described as all the messages and media brands deployed to communicate with the market. These communications include advertising, direct marketing, branding, packaging which are all influenced by ongoing trends in the world and require efficient marketing communication. This brings us to the era of Covid-19 in which Moroccan brands have to adapt and stay up to date with the new consumer behaviors which will be instrumental in leading fruitful marketing strategies. As this pandemic grows, combined with the quarantine state it brings, in-home, online, and TV activity will increase in favor of physical advertising;  advertisers can reach their target users by investing more heavily in online digital advertising.

We will discuss how Moroccan companies are adapting their marketing efforts in this period of crisis, and shed light on some successful examples: What strategy did these brands put in place to ensure continuity while taking the situation into account? What made these brands maintain the link with their customers in times of social distancing? How are they helping out during this crisis?

It’s not just the government and public figures who are raising awareness of the need to stay at home during the Coronavirus crisis, in order to stop the spread of the virus and protect those at risk; companies have also, remarkably through Ads, urged their customers to practice social distancing and stay at home. They also helped medical workers, provided meals, distributed masks, and disinfectant gels. Let’s take a look at some examples!

Mio distributed disinfectant liquids

Ama detergent, a brand specializing in the production of detergents and disinfectants and known for its famous Moroccan brand of cleaning products Mio, has distributed 30 tons of disinfectant liquids and gels free of charge. The action started from El Jadida, the brand’s hometown.

Jumia Morocco declares the introduction of “contactless” delivery for prepaid packages on the platform via JumiaPay

Jumia continues to serve its customers and provide Moroccans with access to online shopping while supporting social distancing, a protected shopping environment and the “contactless delivery” option that has been set up on JumiaPay, the payment platform. It allows consumers to pay for their products online and have them delivered without physical contact with the delivery person or exchanging cash for the transaction.

They have also taken a few measures to guarantee the security of purchases during this period, ensuring that social distancing is respected when the sellers deliver orders and that they take all the necessary precautionary measures, supplying them with cleaning products and distributing a total of 10,000 gloves.

Over 120,000 meals are distributed by McDonald’s Morocco

McDonald’s Morocco launched the # Mta7dine operation, serving meals consistently in 19 cities in the Kingdom to support citizens in difficulty and healthcare workers.

Inwi launches “Inwi money”

Inwi money offers free transfers of money regardless of the amount of the transfer. New Inwi money customers benefit from 1 GB of data offered. Users can, from their home and in compliance with sanitary confinement rules, access many financial services via a single click. They can transfer money from their phone, recharge their phone line, pay their bills or make purchases from partner merchants such as Marjane.

Renault Morocco donates vehicles

Renault Morocco and its network of dealers have donated 50 ambulances. They made available a set of services intended for the medical institutions in order to support the national effort to overcome this pandemic.

This pandemic has shown another side of marketing communication skills.  Moroccan companies were obliged to keep the business going and find a way to avoid the impact of the crisis caused by Covid-19. By moving from sales marketing to hope marketing, they prioritized the need for community content. With uncertain future, we can only wait for a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel.

“It goes without saying that we are in an extraordinary situation globally with Coronavirus. The scale of this pandemic and its far-reaching effects will reshape society in many long-lasting ways. It’s already changing the way we eat, travel, shop, how we think about our health, and even how we interact with one another.” – Brandon Brown, CEO of GRIN.

Written By :

• Benjelloun Meriam
• Baillade Hajar
• Abouricha Salma
• Kassim Abdel-kader
• Ammari Rajae

REFERENCES :

• Businessjargons.com (2016). What is Marketing Communication? Definition and meaning. Accessed (2020, April 10) at https://businessjargons.com/marketing-communication.html
• Medias24.com. (2020). Ama Détergent: l’industriel Marocain au service de la lutte contre le Covid-19. Accessed (2020, April 4) at https://www.medias24.com/ama-detergent-l-industriel-marocain-au-service-de-la-lutte-contre-le-covid-19-9362.html
• Medias24.com (2020). Jumia publie un guide d’achat en ligne, avec livraison à domicile. Accessed (2020, April 4) at https://www.medias24.com/jumia-publie-un-guide-d-achat-en-ligne-avec-livraison-a-domicile-9144.htmlMzaghrani,
• Mzaghrani, N. (2020). Coronavirus: companies that are making a contribution. Accessed (2020, April 3) at https://maroc-diplomatique.net/coronavirus-ces-ent

How did Covid-19 impact the workers all around the world?

Coronavirus has impacted millions of employees around the world in a very significant way causing many issues such as the increase of unemployment and job losses. In this direction, some workers showed more flexibility and started working from home, others decided to keep the work as it is, while few already lost their jobs. Workers are not only worried about their financial and physical problems, but they are also concerned about their psychological wellbeing during this crisis. Penalized by this spread of the novel Coronavirus, more and more Moroccan companies are resorting to partial unemployment for their employees, they are stuck at home, with no work and no payment, others are obliged to opt for the Telework that has been implemented lately, but the worse is about the other category which their  companies still refuse to resort to partial unemployment, favoring  other measures such as encouraging employees the taking of leaves without pay, or part- time work, and the most serious were the employees exposed to the dismissal.

The current situation is not an easy one, and particularly critical either for small businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic and the workers in informal employment that is estimated at almost 80% of the work force they are undeclared or precarious, lacking social protection, they fear not the Coronavirus, but how they will survive emergency measures that have cut off their livelihoods. So, with this crisis going on, Morocco, among any other countries, is forced to embrace the remote working. Many employees have to do their jobs from their homes now, as it may sound nice to stay at home not working about having to wake up early in the morning, workers from some sectors cannot do their jobs unless they go out.

As we all see that the sector of education managed to continue giving lessons from home, teachers trough many platforms like zoom, Microsoft…kept the courses going on, as well as some companies business and financial operations are done and discussed by virtual meetings, accounting offices are also starting to work from home. There’s a big chance that Covid 19 may change human resources trend permanently as employees are becoming more familiar with remote working.

So, what is it like for employees who are unable to execute their tasks with Telework?

How can the government protect those people?

In respond to this situation and in order to face and reduce the rate of people in need during this critical period, the Moroccan government has set up a number of facilities to help. The government has founded a charity fund, also known as, Corona fund, in which all the Moroccans are able, in a voluntary way, to donate to face this pandemic and help people in need; these donations will be deductible from the tax result as a reward from the general directorate of tax. The CNSS has also helped to facilitate the task of remuneration of employees who have temporarily stopped their jobs due to the pandemic, by creating a portal dedicated to them, so as to declare their temporary work stopping, in a specific deadline and with smooth procedures.

As this situation will not be permanent, it may take time, but everything will slowly get to the process of reviving their previous position, be it any business or corporation. Employees or company owners have to keep in mind that they have to take this chance to work with more dedication, spend time researching and studying about the further scopes and skills improvement. Finally, this is a message to managers and directors to make sure to get out of the normal box and do something extraordinary for their employees; for example, they should organize online teambuilding activities, send them a gift packages, and if possible organize individual video calls with employees to check and see if they’re handling the situation.

Authors

• Kenza Hsik
• Oumaima El Fadily
• Widad Guerchi
• Haimoud Amine
• Ghafir Youssef

International repercussions on the global economy and government reaction

In the Eurozone, the PMI (survey of corporate purchasing managers) saw the largest decline ever after settling at 51.6 in February. This index is constructed in such a way that a number below 50 indicates a contraction, and a number above 50 represents an expansion of activity. The scale of the crisis is also historic in the rest of the world. For example, Australia had experienced the longest period of uninterrupted growth among developed countries to date. This trend is likely to stop, with the Covid-19 likely to plunge the country into recession.

The job market in the United States is deteriorating at an unprecedented rate. The last week of March saw 6.6 million Americans jobless, double the previous week, which had already set a “record”. On average in recent years, about 250,000 Americans have been unemployed every week.

In China, industrial production plunged 13.5% in January and February 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. Such a drop is unprecedented in China since the country turned to market economy in the late 1970s.

The major economies reacted by taking vigorous monetary and fiscal policy measures. The short-term evolution of demand and activity will depend entirely on the duration and severity of the confinement of populations. Once it is lifted, the recovery will likely be gradual and uneven. Government action will need to evolve, with aid measures in the face of the pandemic giving way to measures to revive growth, with public finances still under strain.

Faced with the prospect of a severe blow to GDP, central banks reacted quickly and energetically. The Federal Reserve has cut the Fed funds to zero and launched a commercial paper buy-back program as well as high-rated corporate bonds. It also sent the message that it would “do whatever is necessary” to stabilize the market for agency treasuries and the mortgage-backed securities market. The ECB, for its part, launched a pandemic emergency purchase program (PEPP), amounting to EUR 750 billion, and introduced essential flexibility regarding the breakdown of its shopping.

The oil market is collapsing due to the COVID-19

If someone tell you “take this for free and I’ll give you 30$” you might think he’s being ridiculous, and he’ll look like a psycho in your eyes if the thing he’s proposing was Oil, yes the black gold. But trust me, that is actually happening in the era of COVID-19 pandemic; the impossible became possible and the price of oil fell to the ground, and we can say ‘underground’ for the US case. So you might be asking “how is that related to the COVID-19?”: We all know the price of any good is related to supply and demand, and in this era of COVID-19 the demand of transport fuels decreased due to the lockdown and quarantine. With that, a big amount of oil, let’s call it “unwanted oil”, in the market caused a big drop in oil price, and it turned US oil price negative to almost -40$ a barrel. This means producers will pay oil buyers just to get rid of the unwanted oil they have in hands, while the price of oil is still above zero in other countries. It’s all due to the type of crude oil. In America, West Texas Intermediate is an oil shale which costs a lot for its extraction and production (1 oil barrel costs +40$) while in Saudi Arabia, 1oil barrel is way too cheaper (1 oil barrel costs just 5 to 10 dollars) and so is Brent Crude in Russia. However, even if the international bench mark oil price (Brent Crude) is above zero with 20$ a barrel, it is a drop of two-thirds since January to 18 years lows. So the whole oil market is collapsing.

The Impact of Coronavirus on the global trading and the international commerce

 In December 2019, a new strand of Coronavirus started spreading in the streets of Wuhan in China, ever since this has turned into a global pandemic with the virus now present everywhere in the world. This rapid spread has caused governments all over the globe to put social distancing policies in place. Most countries have banned the entrance of anyone that wasn’t present in their territory before the virus broke out. No one was expecting a decrease in the amount of goods being traded in the world but this happened sooner than later, countries like China who have temporarily stopped all forms of import and export, other countries focusing on importing only essential materials and merchandise that can’t be produced nationally. This has caused many companies and factories to close up shop and put their workers to rest. Laying people off work forces countries to provide some sort of financial compensation to help the now unemployed workers, that also means less income for the state. This situation is unprecedented, and currently no one has clear and precise answers to the questions currently on hand. One thing that is definitely sure is that we need to revisit all the habits injected into our bloodstreams from consumerism and capitalism, the only way for us to survive and grow from this pandemic, if to refocus toward the human capital instead of the bottom-line.

Authors

• Imad Hamdis
• Soukaina FARTOUTI
• Ilias Bourkadi

Authors

• LAALJI Zaineb
• KHANDAFOU Laila
•  LAMNAOUAR Aya
• MEZMER Hajar

References

• https://www.wto.org/
• http://www.cnt.ma/
• https://www.airlines.iata.org/

]]> https://composition-hub.com/tourist-industry-in-the-covid-19-era/feed/ 0 https://composition-hub.com/covid-19-vs-economy/ https://composition-hub.com/covid-19-vs-economy/#respond Thu, 09 Jul 2020 13:26:41 +0000 http://encgj-hub.com/?p=2688 The Covid-19 crisis has only just begun for many countries: however, its economic impact is already apparent, and no one knows when the situation will return to normal. China is the first country to be affected by the epidemic; it is also the most affected economically. European countries, led by Italy and the United States are also suffering greatly from the consequences of the pandemic. So what can we expect in the coming months? How can each affected country, and the European Union as a whole, cope with this health and economic crisis, which has created more panic than ever on the financial markets? China, the birthplace of COVID-19, was the first country to suffer from the impact of COVID-19. The drastic containment, which required the closure or reduction of numerous large manufacturing and retail businesses, slowed down the Chinese economy drastically. According to the 6 March report of the Confederation of Chinese Enterprises (CEC), more than 95% of the 299 large manufacturers surveyed have seen their revenues decline.
Fortunately, as China managed to stop the spread of the virus, Chinese manufacturers have regained full capacity. However, whilst the rest of the world is going through a similar form of lockdown, the country’s economy is suffering a second blow with the closure of foreign markets. According to a paper by IMF economists, China will suffer from the reduction in global demand, which accounts for 20% of the Chinese economy. International trade has collapsed, and the Fund is forecasting a drop in the volume of trade in goods and services in 2020.

Since more than 3 billion people worldwide are confined to their homes, restrictions on movement have meant that people working in so-called non-essential sectors can no longer go to work, which has reduced supply and demand. In the United States, for example, as quarantine measures continually reduce economic activity, Morgan Stanley economists have predicted a 30 percent drop in consumption and an unemployment level of around 12.8 per cent in the second quarter. Indeed, the impact of the pandemic cannot be taken lightly as it affects everyone. The travel industry is one of the sectors most at risk due to travel restrictions put in place by governments around the world. Given the uncertainty underlying COVID-19, we can expect the global market to be quite volatile and there will be no global growth this year. Global supply and demand should return to normal. To achieve this result, policymakers have been forced to review their policies to mitigate the severity of the impact, but the virus remains the final factor in deciding when each country will be able to return to normal.

That aside, let’s look closely to the impact on our country, Morocco. Before analyzing the sectors impacted by this pandemic, we are forced to be at the macro level first, it is already known that 2019 was a critical year for Morocco with a very low growth rate compared to the average of previous years, furthermore, this year’s growth rate forecasts did not exceed the 3% 4% threshold.
In March, it was clear that our country will suffer from drought which was already noted in 2019 with 52 million less than 50% of the average of the last years, so we are in a continuous violent drop of the cereal harvest, this leads to a stagnation of demand. Based on this analysis, we conclude that Morocco is in a double shock (drought / Covid-19).Globally, there are 2 strategies to deal with this pandemic: a first which consists in preserving economic activity therefore a sacrifice of the health of a certain population, or a second which consists in preserving health through containment and a partial cessation of activity.
Morocco has opted for the second strategy by stopping economic activity which causes a shock to the level of supply, hence a drop in production for certain sectors, obviously an increase in unemployment, decrease in income, arriving at the decrease in consumption, so we find that the shock started for supply and ended with a shock for demand.

Morocco is in an unprecedented crisis because it is a widely open country and that actually led to impacting the main engines of the economy:
1-Foreign trade:
-Exports : Unfortunately our exports are concentrated on the European Union and more precisely France and Spain which are among the countries most affected by this pandemic as well as China which has become in recent years an important player in our foreign trade, therefore exports are declining.
-Imports: the decrease in the cereal crop generates an increase in the import of food products but this can be offset by the decrease in investment which we talked about before will decrease the import of capital goods according to forecasts the percentage varies between 25% and 50%,
As well as a 35% drop in oil on average compared to 2019
2- Tourism:
This sector is among the sectors most affected in Morocco with the stopping of air travel, according to CMC forecasts we are talking about a shortfall of 35 billion DH, the fact that we can catch up this deficit is very difficult but one can make up for part with domestic tourism during the summer if the containment is finished.
3-Transfers of Moroccan residing abroad (MREs) :
Same case for exports, these transfers are concentrated more at the level of the 3 most affected countries by this crisis (France, Spain, Italy) hence a significant drop in the balance.
4 – INDUSTRY:
Starting with the automobile, this sector is seriously affected with the closure the 2 major players RENAULT and PSA which has lowered production, and caused a job loss of 180,000. We are also talking about the textile sector which has experienced a supply disruption as well as a drop in global demand, without forgetting the fall in external demand which should negatively impact the extractive sector. This drop could be amplified by a possible drop in the price of phosphate because of the declining foreign demand.

In conclusion, the Covid-19 pandemic affecting all humanity is novel and could have catastrophic consequences if it lasts too long and if governments do not take the necessary measures quickly. It is hoped that, faced with this mortal danger, the Heads of State will forget their quarrels and try to find, notably at the level of the G20 and with the help of the World Bank and the IMF, a collective solution to preserve the future of the world.
Other lessons can be drawn from this pandemic, such as the readjustment of globalization, the priority to be given to health, education and human development. Not forgetting the fight against social and territorial inequalities, and finally, respect for ecology and the promotion of the green economy. An urgent call for immediate aid in terms of medical equipment and healthcare staff for Africa ,where the pandemic is currently developing in proposals that could be catastrophic.

• Kachkouch Nada
• Khalidy Hamza
• Miri Mohammed Amine
• Mihi Yassine
• Morjane Rihab

We have been living for dystopian moments, exceptional moments worthy of the Théâtre du Grand Guignol. Never has anyone imagined that such draconian, coercive measures were going to be applied, that we were going to be slammed at home.

But the positive and very optimistic lesson to remember is that this virus has federated the whole world, the nations of the world live in total communion and it is unprecedented, everyone is fighting against the same demon which is the corona virus.

In addition to the considerable human suffering caused by covid-19, which has already killed more than 107,000 people worldwide, the pandemic has a strong impact on the world economy because of the confinements that have been taken in several countries, particularly in China and Italy. Hence the drop in production, following the disruption of the supply chain, a fall in transport, especially air transport, a decrease in investment. Almost all economic activity has been affected, as China is the backbone of international trade and « The factory of the world ».

China and now the whole world  is trying to fight the spread of Covid-19. Many countries have declared a state of emergency and shut down their economies. To date, what are the main spin-offs of the epidemic, given China’s determining weight in international trade?

The progression of the Covid-19 affects many industrial sectors and increases the supply problems in the world …Globalization has propelled China to the heart of extremely complex logistics chains. In fact, companies around the world are dependent on Chinese supplies, which is why plant closings in the provinces affected by the virus have affected so many industries.

To what extent are the luxury, travel and tourism sectors today impacted by the fall in Chinese demand?

The airline industry is facing a severe blow and is expected to suffer losses that could range from $ 63 billion to $ 113 billion this year, due to the largest decline in air traffic in 11 years. Chinese tourists are the most numerous to travel in the world. They favor the Asia-Pacific countries and go mainly to Hong Kong, Macao, and Thailand. The latter country welcomed nearly 10 million Chinese tourists in 2019, or 30% of all visitors. Since the start of the epidemic, Thai authorities estimate that around 1.3 million trips have been canceled in February and March alone. But the impact in the tourism sector goes far beyond, as the epidemic spreads worldwide. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that 50 million jobs in the industry could be threatened, including about 30 million in Asia, seven million in Europe, five million in the Americas and the rest on other continents.

More generally, the countries that are economically linked to China will be most affected, namely Japan, South Korea and Australia. North America and Europe will be relatively less affected by the Chinese slowdown. South Korean automaker Hyundai was the first non-Chinese company to announce the end of production in factories located on its own territory due to a shortage of parts. Car manufacturers in Europe and the United States have said they will soon run out of components.

Our country Morocco, although less affected, is feeling the effects of the epidemic on its economy.

As  economy is based on consumption, trade and tourism, Morocco could experience significant losses in 2020. So far, the main sectors affected are tourism, automotive and textiles.

Being also highly dependent on the European economy, the Kingdom’s economic activity will inevitably be impacted by the decline in European growth. As a reminder, the EU represents more than 58% of Moroccan exports, 59% of the stock of FDI, 70% of tourism receipts and 69% of transfers from Moroccans Residing Abroad (MRE).

Overall and given the freeze on economic activity, several key sectors could be affected by the crisis, mainly tourism, the automotive sector and textiles.

• Automotive and textil

The effect of the Coronavirus could manifest itself, on the one hand, in the supply of increasingly scarce raw materials and inputs, and, on the other hand, in the fall in foreign demand. As a result, some activities have stopped (cars), others are struggling to find markets (textiles). Assembled products (e.g. from the automotive sector) are particularly affected since these consist of articles manufactured in several countries and, therefore, require a transit in their manufacturing process while several factories are currently stopped worldwide.

• Automotive sector: The sector is currently at a standstill following the decisions of Renault and PSA, locomotives of the automotive sector in Morocco, to temporarily suspend their activity in the Kingdom from March 19. The temporary suspension of the activity of the two European groups has an inevitable impact on the entire sector. While the temporary cessation of Renault’s activity at its two production sites in Tangier and Casablanca concerns 11,000 employees, the suspension of PSA activities in the Atlantic Free Zone affects 1,600 employees and has repercussions on its equipment manufacturers and its 66 suppliers. The cessation of activity could ultimately have repercussions on the 180,000 individuals employed by the automotive industry, the 250 automotive equipment suppliers operating in Morocco around nine ecosystems (Wiring, interior vehicles & seats, metal stamping, battery, PSA, engines, Renault, Delphi and Valeo). As the country’s leading export sector, any drop in activity will have a strong impact on the trade balance.
• Textile / clothing: The textile sector, employing more than 160,000 people in 1,200 companies, encounters both a problem with its supply and with its foreign demand. On the one hand, sector-level supplies are severely disrupted, as much of the raw material used comes from Asia, particularly from China. On the other hand, the sector suffers from a problem of visibility in terms of demand, in particular in view of the drop in European demand for textiles and clothing (Spain and France absorbing almost 60% of exports sector), leading to a drop in orders from suppliers, according to the president of the Moroccan Association of Textile and Clothing Industries.

• Tourism

The National Confederation of Tourism (CNT) has evaluated the impact of the Covid-19 crisis at MAD 34.1 Md loss in terms of tourism turnover in 2020 and MAD 14 Md loss in terms of turnover hotel business, for an overall drop of almost 6 million tourists (-98%),which will cause a total loss of 11.6 million overnight stays. No less than 500,000 jobs and 8,500 businesses are at risk, including classified tourist accommodation companies, tourism catering companies, travel agencies, tourist transport companies and car rental companies

• Transport

Air transport is suffering from the precautionary measures applied and the drop in demand. According to the International Air Transport Association IATA, the pandemic could cause Morocco losses of around 4.9 million passengers and a shortfall of USD 728 million. Air traffic disruptions could also put more than 225,000 jobs at risk. Road and rail transport are also expected to be affected by the crisis following the overall ban on the movement of passenger vehicles from 24 March.

The Coronavirus pandemic is one of the largest in the world. The number of Coronavirus cases is still increasing at high speed, the stock markets are plunging, whole cities are affected and confined, businesses are closing … the planet is in panic mode in the face of an unprecedented health crisis.

There are many lessons to be learned from this serious health crisis. First, the priority to be given to human health through training, equipping hospitals, and scientific research. This crisis has shown that globalization is real, and that any important event in one country has repercussions on the others. Hence the need to preserve multilateralism and international solidarity; Instead of each country taking national action, it would be better to have more concentration on the regional and international level, in coordination with the G20, the IMF and the World Bank. Finally, this crisis demonstrates the importance of research /development in the medical sciences, and the obligation to work together to find solutions.

Authors

• KHAYER meryem
• MENYOUBI Oumayma
• N’BAOUI Oumaima

References

• https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51706225?fbclid=IwAR3zw9TcXAZs0NLZ1xnD9HibPb8meS6SjOhW8Lx8oPGUCoDjGbNNvEn-ZTk
• https://www.unido.org/stories/coronavirus-economic-impact?fbclid=IwAR3M9InnYh_CRwfBAQwgr1xTjCg_dc76ifI7Dv4tPi4-Kp6cF8J3pSmOOLI
• https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/depression-global-economy-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR1nXaNRuN484W171AOo1aqkQY0By-tnrE6AhwgakY4gLhq2NkokhxI1iyc

So what is the effect of confinement for weeks on the mental health of the population? A number of studies have shown that many factors caused by confinement have a negative effect on the mental health of people who are worried about frustration and boredom, lack of equipment and information, as well as the loss of income of quarantined people.

Confinement seems to jeopardize social ties, as we can no longer see family, friends, colleagues and we are deprived from the satisfaction that work can bring. According to several studies carried out on a global level, and more precisely in China, have been able to conclude that this confinement can lead to emotional disturbances, depression, stress, insomnia, symptoms of stress, anger and of course the worst mood prevalent in anyone including kids. Compared to a survey carried out in February in China, more than a third of the respondents report psychological disorders (anxiety, phobias, social difficulties etc.), considered as severe for more than 5% of them.

On the other hand, we are not equal on the financial level as well as on the psychological level, which causes a great anguish with people who work or even the most qualified who are afraid of losing their income following this pandemic. This shows that Coronavirus crisis will exacerbate the social divide. Today, the whole world is facing a very important stage, which presents itself in the fact of looking for effective means in order to protect oneself and face the risks of confinement, of course it is not obvious to escape from a bad mood and fear because it is part of our unconscious side, but at least the challenge remains to keep our fear, anxiety, anger at a bearable level.

Finally, in order to be able to overcome this terrible situation, people must look for the bright side and move away radically from learning too much about the virus; this can reduce their anxiety, feeling of discouragement, insecurity, sadness, anger.  Positivity can also help them win the battle against the COVID 19 virus.

Resources
• Breaking News , (2020) , .How coronavirus hurts people even if they don’t get the disease?
• Les Echos , SOPHIE AMSILI , (2020), Coronavirus: the psychological risks of confinement in 5 questions
• PourquoiDocteur.Fr , Hélene Corbie , (2020) ,Coronavirus :consequences on mental health.