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How Australian Businesses Have Coped With The Covid Pandemic

 

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) global pandemic has had a significant impact on everyone’s lives. Even if you and all your immediate family and friends escape infection, your lives are no doubt severely affected by Government quarantine measures that are necessary to stop the spread and flatten the curve of new infections.

Australia has done better than many countries in stopping the spread of the virus and minimising the death toll amongst the most vulnerable demographic (specifically the elderly and those with pre-existing respiratory issues). In many instances, Australia is the envy of the world when it comes to our handling of the pandemic, especially when you consider the devastating impact it has had on other similarly developed nations like the United States (which at the time of writing is over 120,000).

Despite Australian society being primarily protected from the devastation of the virus, Australian businesses have had to deal with the brunt of the economic impact of lockdown. While industries like tourism and exports have been severely affected as an apparent result of the closing of international borders, domestic businesses big and small have also suffered immensely.

Large numbers of employees have been stood down in the wake of the pandemic due to a sharp decrease in demand for non-essential goods and services. Many employees also lost their jobs outright or had their hours reduced to the point that they could no longer support themselves on their wages.

To prevent massive civil unrest due to a new wave of poverty, the Australian Government cleverly introduced public welfare measures that gave people a safety net and allowed businesses to offset the loss in revenue the pandemic caused. Because of these measures, lines for soup kitchens and employment (scenes reminiscent of the Great Depression) were avoided. Businesses were given the breathing room to dial back their operations and survive the COVID pandemic intact.