section_path: Causes/COVID-19 pandemic
section_name: COVID-19 pandemic
paragraph_text: COVID-19 pandemic
  
  The COVID-19 pandemic was a pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); the outbreak was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, declared to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern from 30 January 2020 to 5 May 2023, and recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. The response to the pandemic led to severe global economic disruption, the postponement or cancellation of sporting, religious, political and cultural events, and widespread shortages of supplies exacerbated by panic buying. Schools, universities and colleges closed either on a nationwide or local basis in 63 countries, affecting approximately 47 percent of the world's student population. Many governments restricted or advised against all non-essential travel to and from countries and areas affected by the outbreak. However, the virus is already spreading within communities in large parts of the world, with many not knowing where or how they were infected.
  
  The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of the disease and efforts to quarantine it. As the pandemic spread around the globe, concerns shifted from supply-side manufacturing issues to decreased business in the services sector. The pandemic is considered unanimously as a major factor in causing the recession. The pandemic affected nearly every major industry negatively, was one of the main causes of the stock market crash and resulted in major restrictions of social liberties and movement.
  
  The COVID-19 crisis affected worldwide economic activity, resulting in a 7% drop in global commercial commerce in 2020. While global value chains (GVC) persisted, several demand and supply mismatches caused by the pandemic resurfaced throughout the recovery period and spread internationally through trade.
  
  During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses lost 25% of their revenue and 11% of their workforce, with contact-intensive sectors and SMEs being particularly heavily impacted. However, considerable policy assistance helped to avert large-scale bankruptcies, with just 4% of enterprises declaring for insolvency or permanently shutting at the time of the COVID wave.
  
  Aid to people and businesses in the form of employment retention schemes, subsidies, tax relief, and loan guarantee programs totalled roughly 9% of GDP, with substantial cross-country variance, which might reflect policy space and development levels. In the face of considerable liquidity challenges, debt moratoriums and revisions to bankruptcy rules also safeguarded businesses and people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  In response to the pandemic's infection rates and death toll, countries in the Western Balkans, the Eastern Neighborhood, and Central and Eastern Europe faced severe recessions.