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In the interview, Dr Huw Edwards shares his thoughts on the economic impacts of the Coronavirus:
- An epidemic like that should have been foreseen by the government, since we've had scares like that in the past (SARS epidemic, Avian flu, MERS, Ebola virus).
- There is a risk of a severe recession, but it all depends on how far and how vast the virus spreads, as well as on how people react to it and the extent of disruption caused.
- The virus can break into the global supply chains and influence people's willingness to travel (for example, Japanese government are currently reconsidering hosting the Olympics).
- Services and business deals depend internationally on people's ability to travel (for instance, tourism, business travel).
- If the virus does spread further, it can have all kinds of transformational effects on the world economy, like people not wanting to go to crowded shops, which could potentially increase the demand for online shopping or universities not being able to hold exams.