Your exclusive summary of 2020: Worst Year Ever?
We’re calling it a year here at Street Economics. Hopefully, the next few days don’t present any new surprises. But we’re sure no one wants to place any bets on that.
The Time magazine has dubbed 2020 as “the worst year ever”. No matter what happens in 2021, the past year has changed us forever. Let’s look back at some major milestones of 2020.
The beginning of a year.
While we were happy to start a new bright year, COVID-19 was becoming an emerging issue across Wuhan. By the end of January, cases were recorded in Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Financial markets have been shaken, anticipating the destruction of the global supply chains that run through China. By late February, the World Health Organization announced Italy as an epicentre of this deadly virus. Since the hospitals were overrun, the world was bottled up in early March.
At the time of writing this blog, COVID-19 that has caused more than 73m infections and more than 1.6m deaths.
But it’s not just people dying!
COVID-19 didn’t only affect people’s lives, this pandemic has also changed our way of living and priority order.
Governments around the world panicked to control the spread. The sudden imposition of lockdowns led to panic buying in some places, notably in America and Britain, where supermarket shelves were stripped bare. Shopping moved online. Internet searches rocketed for goods such as toilet paper, fitness equipment and breadmakers. In countries, such as India, the human cost was higher. Left suddenly without work, many migrant labourers tried to return to their family homes; it was the country’s greatest movement of people since partition in 1947. India’s economy shrank by around 25% in April-June.
The pandemic was grace for some after all. People across the economy learnt to run businesses and conduct their jobs from home. Stock markets rose to new heights after March, partially due to the rising share prices of tech companies. Digital meetings became a function for office workers sent home to work remotely.
When internet shopping flourished, Amazon added hundreds of thousands of new employees.
Most people have completely changed their lifestyle. We have been at a new level of transition for some time now, where companies and countries are focusing on equipping themselves with emerging technology and innovative business models to remain viable and competitive in a fast-changing world.
The COVID-19 has posed states, enterprises, and culture with one of the most daunting threats in modern years. It is considered by many to be the next turning point of the 21st century. The pandemic is a wake-up call for businesses to have a strategy to cope with uncertainty. It is also a landmark moment that signifies a gradual acceleration phase towards digitization through society.
Transportation and tourism were the biggest victims of the pandemic. Even with massive government bailouts, foreign tourism has decreased by over 70%.
2020 was way more than COVID-19.
Although COVID-19 managed to stay in headlines, the pages on this strange calendar just kept turning with more devastating events. Public figures who meant a great deal to us–Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Lewis, Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman–were wrested away. And in May, the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis ignited righteous anger not just across the United States but around the world.
On August 4, an enormous explosion in Beirut, Lebanon injured 5000 people and killed 135 people. Many people are still missing after the explosion, and over 300,000 people have been displaced from their homes. On August 5, it was revealed that the blast may have been caused by stored ammonium nitrate. Many have blamed a fire at the firecracker warehouse.
On November 2, 10 students or more were shot and killed after gunmen attacked Kabul University. The men with guns also traded fire with Afghan security forces who responded to the scene but were mainly targeting students. The Taliban has said it is not responsible for the attack and no other group has claimed responsibility.
And more, and more, and more! This year was definitely a disaster to all of us, let’s hope 2021 will be our guardian angel.
