The world has become a global village, and thanks to our interconnectedness, coronavirus Covid-19 has spread rapidly, jumping from the epicentre in Wuhan, China, to countries all over the world at a rate of knots. Many of them were vastly unprepared, and have failed to act quickly enough to stem the outbreak.

According to data, those most at risk from the virus are the elderly, people with pre-existing medical conditions and those with weak immune systems. Sitting in an equally precarious position is the South African economy, having been battered in recent months by, among other things, recessionary economic conditions and Eskom’s rolling blackouts. Against this backdrop, the economic impact of the coronavirus is uncertain, but the signs aren’t good.