It has already been proven that the impacts of the consequences of the epidemic caused by the coronavirus on economies around the planet are not just speculative.
As disclosed by VEJA magazine, just this past Monday, the 16th, China announced that the country's industrial production plummeted at the sharpest rate in three decades in the first two months of the year. The period represented the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
The country adopted extremely restrictive measures on the movement of people to try to contain the virus, many industries halted production in the world's second largest economy.
What does the data say about Coronavirus?
According to the official release, China's industry plummeted 13.5% in January and February compared to the same period last year. This was the weakest result since January 1990. A significant drop in China's industrial production has consequences for the entire world, as the country supplies inputs to the entire world.
The Veja report shows that urban investment and retail sales also fell sharply for the first time, fueling views that China's economy likely stagnated or even contracted in the first quarter and that authorities will need to do more to revive activity.
China's economic setback due to Coronavirus.
Business investment fell by 24.5% in January-February from a year earlier while private investment plunged by 26.4%. Other alarming data is related to retail sales, which in turn shrank by 20.5TP3T as consumers avoided crowded places.
The unemployment rate?
It also took a hit: official data showed it rose to 6.3% in February from 5.2% in December, reaching the highest level since official records began to be published.
But after all, what does the World Health Organization say about the coronavirus?
The news is not encouraging at all. According to official information from the World Health Organization (WHO), the total number of cases in China alone is 81,048, the country with the most infected people in the world.
The number of deaths caused by the disease reached 3,208, which raises very high concerns regarding the virus.
According to the Chinese government, the peak of the outbreak has already been surpassed. The rate of infection cases is lower and local transmission is lower than that recorded among people entering the country from other places.