Still early days, but South Africa must prepare for the coronavirus

January 28, 2020 Siyabonga Mtangana

A STAFF member checks a passenger’s body temperature at Wangjiadun metro station in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei province. Xinhua

JOHANNESBURG – It is too early to tell how the so-called “Wuhan flu”, a coronavirus that results in flu-like symptoms, will affect South Africa, but it is being compared to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) pandemic in 2003 that cost the global economy billions of rand.

Sars infected more than 8000 people and killed some 800, resulting in estimates of global economic costs from disrupted trade and travel of R400 billion to R1.4 trillion.

Dawie Roodt, the chief economist of the Efficient Group, said there were three possible avenues as to how Wuhan flu could impact South Africa.

“The first is through the real economy if other countries start closing borders and so on it will affect trade and tourism. The second is through the financial markets and its impact on commodity prices and exchange rates. The third is if the virus also arrives in South Africa,” he said.

Professor Jannie Rossouw of the University of Witwatersrand’s department of economics said: “At the moment, the virus infection is limited to the northern hemisphere and will probably only reach us through international travel in a few days’ time. This gives us time to prepare, for instance, at ports of entry, to limit the spread.

Source: iol.co.za

You May Also Like

JSE faces sharp losses as other markets fall on Friday

Makhura says Gauteng plays big part in intra-Africa trade

Rand loses steam as national lockdown draws near