Most people are worried about the global pandemic. However, taking precautions to avoid getting sick is as simple as understanding how your body’s immune system works. While it’s still unsure about whether a vaccine will be ready or not and how long it’ll take us to get it, your body already has natural defenses against these diseases. Boosting your immune system may not stop you from getting the virus, but if you do contract it, it will help you fight it off. But how do you strengthen your immune system in a way to deal with COVID-19?

Drink A Lot of Fruit Juice

Fruit juices like orange juice contain vitamin C, and it’s well-known that this vitamin can significantly boost your immune system. Vitamin C is essential for producing a type of white blood cell known as lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are a critical part of how the body responds to disease. They detect foreign organisms and rally to the defense of the body’s tissues. They are crucial to the body winning its fight against invading organisms, like SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. Ensuring your body has enough vitamin C gives it a valid defense mechanism against these invading pathogens. If you can’t get fresh juice, consider eating fresh fruits instead.

Supplemental Immune Boosters

If you already have a robust immune system, you may be able to fight off any pathogens that make their way into your body. However, these disease-causing organisms are continually evolving. Getting the flu shot last season is no guarantee you’ll avoid this season’s strain. Immune booster supplements such as ImmunoCillin can help to shore up your body’s natural defenses and give you an edge against pathogens.

COVID-19 vaccine isn’t yet available for the majority of people, so strengthening your immune system through additional immune boosters is the best way to avoid running afoul of the virus. Keeping your immune system at the top of its game also saves you from other infectious diseases. A robust immune system also must prepare for recurring attacks. InfectIvade helps the body deal with subsequent invasions by the same disease.

Taking Precautions Is Necessary

The virus affects all of us, and we must take precautions to deal with it. Our bodies are susceptible to illness, but we have an advantage by knowing how to avoid it or cope with it. Don’t underestimate the role of exercise and a good diet in remaining healthy. It’s only by constant vigilance that we can face a challenge like COVID-19 and overcome it. With time, most of society will be vaccinated and things can start to become normal again, but we’ll have to rely on our own initiative until then.

Carpet cleaning has become a significant service during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for good reason. An essential service is best defined as a service that the public needs to use, even amid the pandemic. So what makes carpet cleaning such an important service? Simply put, based on what we know about the virus, it has the potential to hang around on exposed surfaces for an extended length of time. Those surfaces include countertops, clothes, and even people’s carpets. Professional carpet cleaning services can deal with this residual viral spread before it infects others who come into contact with carpets or rugs.

Why Not Do It Yourself?

Several critical issues exist that stop people from attempting to clean their carpets on their own. Store-bought chemicals claim that they can kill the virus, and that may be true. However, there’s not enough evidence to show that these store-bought cleaning agents deal with the virus effectively. Beyond standard disinfectants, the list of what can kill the virus outright is still mostly unknown. Carpet cleaning offers a simple solution by having professionals deal with the carpet and clean it thoroughly, ensuring no residual material is left over. In some cases, this can make the difference between a pocket of infection and leaving a home free of disease.

Additionally, cleaning a potentially infected home can lead to some crucial concerns with personal safety. Most local medical authorities advise that if you think that a location has been exposed to the virus, all individuals should evacuate the premises as soon as possible. Carpet cleaning is an essential service because it allows professionals to deal with a potential outbreak location while isolating it from others. Carpet cleaners tend to use PPE to avoid contact with the virus while cleaning, making them the far safer choice than attempting to do it yourself. Limiting your exposure comes with making smart decisions.

Deep Cleaning With Chemicals Can Help

Hot-water or deep steam cleaning can help remove the possible virus matter from a carpet, and the chemicals can help kill any viruses that remain on the carpet’s fibers. If you decide to choose professionals to clean your carpet, you should still observe the social distancing rules to ensure that there’s little room for contamination. Ask about their procedure for entering new homes and if they clean and sanitize their equipment between visits. Knowing this can help you make a more informed decision about who you’re letting clean your carpets.

Their feet are sensitive and permeable, and help them stay cool. Their foot pads often may have microscopic cuts or abrasions. The alcohol content in the sanitizer will sting and irritate the wound. Also, dogs often clean their own pads as part of their cooling process and for their own grooming needs. Licking and ingesting sanitizer is poisonous for them. Even though you mean well, we don’t want you to have to take your dog for an emergency vet check. Any signs of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea if you think your dog has ingested even a small amount of sanitizer, should be examined by a veterinarian.

They do make masks for dogs; it’s an opportunistic market attracting the impulse and uniformed buyer. First off, dogs don’t get our human strain of COVID easily. COVID has been rarely found in dogs and only under extenuating circumstances. It would take much more for your dog to get COVID than you being sick at home with them. So it is very hard for them to get our COVID.

Why Dogs Do Not Need Human Virus Protection Measures

Dogs are usually vaccinated from many of their own canine strains of corona viruses, which do not affect humans. Putting a mask on your dog only takes your dog’s abilities away and makes them feel restrained and frightened which could lead to aggressive behavior.

Dogs have no way to cool down in summer expect to pant, which they cannot do with a mask on. And if they are not the aggressive type, they will likely just keep trying to pull the mask off, since it blocks their ability to smell, lick and taste freely, so if the main idea from a human perspective is to protect the dog from germs – how protective is all that added face fussing! Not very – the results are counter-productive.

If you take your dog to the mall, to the dog groomer, dog training, or a friend’s house, anything that involves you and the dog being inside and around strangers for several hours is high risk for you! Try to avoid unnecessary pet visits or appointments and indoor activities for now. Too much close contact won’t hurt your dog, but could affect you. Stay home, stay safe.

If you sell a dog during COVID – Please keep the price realistic

This is someone’s investment for the life of the dog. We hope that you chose someone who is getting the dog for the right reasons, and we want it to work out well for everyone involved.

Now You Know How To Protect Yourself and Your Dog During The Pandemic

In this article we discussed what your dog does not need you to do for them during the pandemic. Please keep yourself and your friends and family safe. Don not use sanitizer to disinfect your dog’s paws even though you have the best intentions. Please do not make your dog wear a mask, only people should be mask-wearing. For your safety, avoid enclosed areas for extended periods of time. And if you are selling, or buying a dog during COVID, make sure the price is reasonable and the seller is reputable.

How Has The Pandemic Modified Your Daily Dog Routine?

The attitudes of many Ghanaians toward the observation of the health preventive protocols for the COVID-19 pandemic was initially not encouraging in the early days of March 2020 when the country recorded her first two cases. This was attributed to the infodemic that went viral that the black gene was immune to the coronavirus. From that time, many Ghanaian citizens numbering into thousands have tested positive to the coronavirus, contrary to the earlier wrong assertion that the virus was resistant to the black skin. Currently, Ghana’s case count for coronavirus is 22, 822 with 129 deaths. This ever-rising number in reported COVID-19 cases should have made the ordinary Ghanaian very cautious in meticulously following the safety protocols. On the contrary, some Ghanaian citizens, with the majority in the illiterate class as a random survey conducted by the writer suggested.

Two popular views were expressed in the survey. The first and leading view was that the statistics for the reported COVID-19 cases given in the daily COVID-19 update by the Ghana government’s instrument, the Ghana Health Service, was flawed and deceptive, aimed at attracting international funding. Thus, the figures cited in the country for coronavirus, to these Ghanaians, are misleading and politically motivated to assist the country to receive international financial aid. Political electoral opposers have fingered the ruling government as using the purported funds believed to have been received for their political campaigns in the general election scheduled for December 7, 2020.

The second popular view shared by many Ghanaians in the illiterate category of the population is that they are uncertain of the existence of the coronavirus. Even though some Ghanaian politicians and renowned members in the Ghanaian society have died from the COVID-19, many of them still doubt the real cause of their deaths. Some Ghanaians even claim that they would believe in the existence of the coronavirus only after a member of their family contracts it or dies as a result of it. Others assert that even if the coronavirus exists, government and other corporate associations have exaggerated its health impacts.

Based on these two popular views, observing the safety protocols for the COVID-19 is not a priority or anything to be given serious attention. The wearing of face masks is not observed by such persons. Even if they have face masks, they refuse to wear them. Few do so when they notice the presence of police officials. Many others when questioned about why they are not in face masks, give flimsy excuses. They claim that the prolonged wearing of the face mask makes breathing difficult, while many others say that it makes speaking audibly a challenge. Unfortunately, these attitudes of these Ghanaians, if not corrected or addressed, would potentially lead to a high leap in the COVID-19 reported cases in the immediate future in Ghana. To remedy the situation, the government of Ghana must deploy more security personnel to various towns and communities in the country to enforce the implementation of the Ghana government’s directive of wearing face masks at all times and all places.

The government of Ghana through the Ghana Health Service must ensure that continued public health education on the existence of the coronavirus and the relevance of observing all the safety protocols to prevent the infection and spread of the coronavirus is carried out to dispel the growing infodemics about the COVID-19 in the country. Also, the Ghana Health Service must tactfully use the information centres in the various small towns and communities as communication outlets in disseminating public health education on the coronavirus in their respective local dialects. This could complement the already good efforts by the Ghana government in using radio and television stations as well as the print media in carrying out public health education on the coronavirus. These recommendations would help prevent the likely hype in the number of COVID-19 cases in Ghana, projected in the immediate future as a result of the emergence of the rapidly spreading and new infodemics.

My, how things have changed – quickly! If you’re still investing, I’d love to hear how you’re adjusting and what you see for the future. I’ll start with some of the Covid changes we’ve already made.

NOTE: Much of what I share is what we’re already experiencing and changing in our own business. Much is based on our 2008-2010 real estate investing experience.

1. Don’t stop. Historically, real estate always works, you simply need to adapt to market changes. Therefore:
   • stay flexible
   • learn about and secure funding
   • stay involved in online networking groups – both local and national – to stay abreast of changes you need to be aware of as they happen.
2. We’ve increased our marketing. Why?
   • People are going to need money which means selling their personal or family members’ properties. We want to be available when a need arises to offer what help we can.
   • There are fewer investors buying already because of fear of the future and lack of funding, so there hasn’t been a better time to be in the market in years!
3. Get educated. What we’ve seen recently is exactly what we experienced in 2006-2007; everyone was getting into real estate investing because it was so easy. As the business becomes more difficult now, those who are prepared, informed, and educated have incredible opportunity.
4. Buy for less. We all know the future holds uncertainty. Price values may drop greatly in the coming months/years. Sellers know that, too, which is why many will want to sell sooner rather than later. They also realize that you’re taking on their risk when you buy, so they understand when you offer less than they hope for. And, it’s true, you are taking on risk. Make sure when you make an offer that it’s a price you can live with if the value drops over the next 3-6 months.
5. Properties are still selling well, so buy properties you can turn quickly – this is not a time to buy large rehabs!
6. Buy and sell virtually. This is the perfect time to learn how to transition your business to virtual. We are currently doing due diligence online, asking permission to walk around the property and take photos, then asking the seller to either send us interior photos themselves or to leave the property while we enter and take photos. Sellers appreciate our concern for their well being. We are requiring that they allow a property walk-through before closing to insure their own photos do not omit something we should know about.
7. Prepare for longer days on market when selling. Watch your local property days-on-market to have an idea of what to expect. As lenders begin to dry up and/or increase their borrowing requirements, there will be fewer qualified buyers and both selling and closings will take longer.
8. Expect lenders to tighten borrowing requirements.
   • We’ve already seen private lenders stop lending due to fear of future risk and a need to keep their funds secure for themselves.
   • Many hard money lenders have stopped lending all together because they were bundling loans and selling them. Those loans are no longer being purchased, so those lenders are no longer lending.
   • Banks have stopped offering jumbo loans, which means they’re already concerned and responding.
   • Pretty much anyone still lending has begun requiring that the borrower has more funds on hand, higher credit score, and is a stronger applicant all the way around. Plus, they’re increasing points and interest rates.
9. Higher priced properties will be the first to slow, so focus on the properties that are below your area’s median price point (and know what that price point is!).
10. Expect this “event” to last for a while – possibly years. In 2008, the common response was that the worst was over and things were going to start getting better. “Things”, however, continued to get worse.

Remember, we’re very early in the “new reality” and what’s coming is hard to predict. Stay aware, stay flexible, stay informed, stay in touch with other investors. There’s always money to be made in real estate.

Do you agree/disagree with what I’ve shared?

What changes have you made or do you plan to make going forward?

Things may seem bleak what with the Covid-19 pandemic, the total lockdowns across the world, and the human and social cost of these uncertain times. Yet, as the Persian adage goes, this too shall pass, which brings us to a very important question.

What would you and your brand have gained at the end of all this? The biggest issue that every social marketer had was the challenge of breaking through the clutter and establishing a connect with an ever-distracted audience.

Well, the tables and turned and marketers are now struggling to cater to what can only be described, literally, as a captive audience.

Time to Look beyond Marketing and Selling

There’s a time to sell and then there’s a time to build relationships, and the lockdown caused by the pandemic certainly falls in the latter category.

Nothing can seem more crass than trying to profit from a human and economic disaster like the Covid-19 pandemic. Brands that thought they could fool the audience by simply pretending to care quickly got called out on social media.

So, go beyond transactions and focusing on establishing a connect and building a bond with your audience. The good thing, at least for social marketers, is that your audience, probably for the first time ever, is sitting idle and bored at home and is just waiting for somebody to entertain them.

Interact, Interact, Interact

How to determine whether your social marketing strategy is working or not? Here is a simple trick that you can use. Is your brand talking to its audience or is it interacting with them?

Talking is a one-way process. Interacting is all about exchange and give and take. From quirky ideas you tried out during the pandemic lockdown to stuff you want to do once all this passes-the first step towards creating a real relationship is to interact and find common areas of interest.

Be Imaginative, Be Bold!

How did the pandemic change your world-will your brand find a mention in your audience’s answer? The opportunity is there for the taking. You just have to know when to go beyond your routine hunt for likes, retweets, plays, views, and shares. Simply buy these metrics and boost your numbers so that you are free to focus on the bigger picture.

The shutdown is, literally, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s never going to happen again, which mean you just have one shot to get it right and to transform your social base forever.

Your Coronavirus Essentials Checklist

Just like that we woke up in a different world! The coronavirus epidemic has completely changed our lives and transformed the way we do business.

For many, this can be an incredibly frightening time to be a business owner.

You worry about the health of your employees and the business, the bills that keep coming, your income and family obligations.

But rather than let worries overwhelm them, smart small business owners can use this opportunity to plan and prepare for future growth and success.

That’s why we’ve created a COVID-19 checklist to help you make the most of this uncertain time:

1) Announce changes in business hours.

Are you an essential business that is staying open? You may have shorter business hours to allow more time for cleaning, or senior hours where high-risk and elderly customers can come and safely shop with fewer customers.

Post any new business hours on the front of your physical location and share them on the home page of your website.

Don’t forget to update your hours on your social media profiles too as well as your Google Business listing so everyone can stay up to date.

2) Pivot to meet the current needs of your customers

Find creative ways to do business with customers who are at home on quarantine. Are you offering pick up or delivery? Let customers know what you are doing to accommodate them during this new, and hopefully temporary, normal.

For example, amid shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders, most car dealerships will deliver your new car to you. Similarly, service-based businesses can pivot their offerings to meet the demands of customers who are staying home.

One example is the landing page we designed for Barbara Katnich, an interior designer with Fresh Approach Desgins.

She acknowledges that with all this time on your hands you are probably ready for a design change. Then she walks you through the process of how she can work with you virtually while you are at home.

The advantage of a landing page is that it’s quick, easy, and allows you to speak to the specific needs of customers at this time without having to redesign your whole website.

3) Provide ways customers can still support you

If you operate a service-based business like a restaurant or a salon and have been forced to close your doors, you may want to consider offering online sales of gift certificates.

Encourage your customers to buy a certificate now so they can treat themselves and redeem it when the virus outbreak has slowed, and their self-quarantine period is over.

This can help maintain sales for you, while giving your customers something fun and exciting to look forward to.

4) Communicate with your customers.

People want to know if and how your business has changed in light of the pandemic. Assure them their health and safety are your #1 concern and tell them what you’re doing to ensure a safe shopping experience.

Explain any extra precautions you’re taking to disinfect and clean and let them know how you’re promoting social distancing as a small business owner.

5) Announce any new services you’re offering.

Whether you sell food or fashion, are you offering pickup or delivery? The more ways you can accommodate your customers during this new normal, the better for them and fewer financial losses you’ll experience.

Share the news on your website and on your social media accounts like what Lorie Brown did. She saw a huge need to support nurses and healthcare practitioners during this crisis and created the COVID-19 Survival Guide.

She asked us to help her create a multi-guest interview series that delivers daily videos to subscribers, all for free.

6) Ditch out-of-date information and broken links.

It’s the perfect time to step back and take a long hard look at your website.

Are there any typos? Did a team member featured on the About Us page quit? Are certain articles no longer relevant?

Maybe your site is too far outdated and needs a complete overhaul. Don’t try to go it alone, it’s best to hire a a professional web development firm who can assist in ensuring your site is professionally done to give your business the best exposure once this crisis is over.

7) Lighten the (remote) workload.

Give your staff easy ways to track their hours like the free time-tracking tool Toggl that we use. Encourage team communication with tools like Zoom, Slack or Discord. Look into team collaboration tools like Monday and Asana to manage project workflows.

You can see more team tools in our article: Tips on Managing Your Workforce Remotely.

8) Get lean and mean.

You’re going to have to accept that things may be tight for a while. Are there some non-essentials you could cut from your small business budget?

Reevaluate the services you use to make sure you have the best value for your money, but don’t tighten your belt so much that you miss out on marketing or business opportunities.

9) Plan your editorial calendar.

You want to provide your customers with informative, valuable content that inspires them and builds your expertise and credibility in in their eyes.

If you have some downtime now, invest it in your future content. Look at what products and services you’ll want to promote down the road and plan some engaging content and marketing materials to support your efforts.

10) Learn a new skill.

Do you want to learn to use Instagram more effectively? Maybe you want to master your video marketing skills or learn a new language to better communicate with your customers.

If you can slow down a bit, grab the chance to read, learn and grow! This might be a good time to check out our AMPLiFY! Business Academy where members get instant access to a large library of training videos from social media marketing to lead generation and content marketing.

11) Make your employees feel safe.

Always communicate your COVID-19 plans to workers around sick days and compensation. If your employees have to come into work, assure them how you’re keeping their area clean and safe.

They are looking to you to feel taken care of during this scary time. That said, don’t lie or withhold negative information; if you can’t give bonuses or have to lay off staff, let them know as soon as possible and support them as best you can.

12) Attract more traffic to your site.

It’s always a great idea to add fresh, useful content to your website. Your visitors will appreciate solution-focused content that honestly speaks to why they need your product or service.

Focus on writing some keyword-rich articles to boost your search engine rankings.

13) Grow your social media following.

You may be self-isolating, but you can connect online! Message people who liked or commented on your social media posts to start a conversation.

Be active in the Facebook Groups where your ideal clients hang out. Be visible and helpful (not salesy and annoying) while you are making new connections and offering people a human connection.

14) Segment your email list.

Over time, email lists can get messy. Small business owners may lack the resources to write targeted messages for each group of potential clients (e.g., hot prospects, warm leads, new prospects, business colleagues).

Focus on segmenting your email list to make people feel like you’re speaking directly to them and offering them unique content.

15) Develop a new product or service.

Maybe you have a business idea that’s been on the back burner these past few years. Or, maybe you’ve identified a product or service that would really help people during or after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Check out what Heather Wilson has done to meet today’s demand of using Facebook Groups to a businesses advantage. She quickly created an online course called Create, Fill, and Engage Your Facebook Group.

16) Perform competitive research.

Staying on top of what your competitors are doing gives you an incredible advantage, whether you run an established small business or are developing a new product or service.

Invest some time now in better understanding your competitors. How is their messaging different from yours? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How do they engage with their social media followers?

17) Share the love.

Don’t miss the chance to strengthen your most important relationships. Think about the people who are important to you (family, friends, customers, vendors, mentors, partners) and tell them what you most appreciate about them!

Stay Engaged with Customers and Keep Sales Alive During COVID-19.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and uncertain, let’s try to see these slow times for small businesses as an opportunity to think, review and plan for future growth and success.

If you need assistance, we can help you design a landing page to help you transition through and support your customers effectively at this time. Together we’ll find ways to boost dwindling sales due to this unforeseen economic crisis.

We wish everyone health and safety during this unusual time.

To your success,

Susan

We strolled down the palm tree-lined street in the balmy Florida night, my sister and I, my grandmother, and her friend. The laughs were loud and the wine flowed from the brimming glasses they carried in their hands. No doubt, they were enjoying their vacation. But then again, it was hard to tell when my grandmother was in vacation mode, and when she was her normal, boisterous, fun-loving self. On this particular evening, she spotted a Rolls Royce… her dream car. Wine glass in hand, she jumped on the hood and begged us to take her picture. That is a moment in time that I will never forget.

Whether my grandmother was partying with her sisters, hosting large family holiday gatherings, running her boutique of over 30 years, tending to her orchids, or making sure she was doing her duty as a devout Catholic by having us all attend mass every Sunday, she was always the life of the party.

There was never a day she wasn’t surrounded by my loving grandfather and her husband of 71 years. By all accounts, she lived a good, long, life. At 92, her failing health proved to be too much, and she passed away peacefully at home. The fact that she was at home instead of an elder care facility or hospital was a blessing to our family. We could call and visit with safety protocols up until her last hours.

For a woman who would have wanted the party of a “lifetime” (pun intended), her funeral was attended by fewer than 30 of the closest family members. Cousins and family who lived out of the state were asked to stay home for fear of spreading Covid to one another and to my 96 year-old grandfather.

Our small group of family attended the funeral, laid her to rest in the cemetery, and gathered at their home for a casual outdoor meal. It felt awkward, not knowing how to act if we weren’t able to be our hugging, loud story-telling, close talking, selves. My heart ached for the normalcy of our pre-pandemic family gatherings.

I know others have felt the side effects of Covid and its impact on their experiences around death and emotions of grief. Indeed, others have suffered much worse than our family. Grief is a common thread that runs through society during a pandemic. Whether the emotion of grief is caused from the loss of a job, of a loved one, a relationship, a pet, home, etc. isolation amplifies our dark emotions.

After the experience my family had with my grandmother’s passing, I began browsing the web to see what resources existed for families in situations like ours.

For someone already working as a Virtual Assistant, working from home would be a breeze. However, for those who are forced to work from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be a challenge.

First of all, you have to know that working from an office and working from home is way too different.

In my many years of experience in this industry, I have learned that many people think that those working from home as a Virtual Assistant are having the time of their life. Even though they may have more flexibility, it takes so much self-discipline to be able to work efficiently from home.

If you are “forced” to work from home because your company requires you to do so for health and safety reason, then there will be a lot of adjustments for you.

Here are some advice from experienced Virtual Assistants:

Stick to a schedule

I’m sure the first thing you will be asking yourself when you wake up and realize that you are not commuting to your office is, “What am I going to do?”

Yes, working from home can be very disorienting so make sure that you stick to your daily routine. Wake up the same time. Prepare your food at the same time. Get ready the same time and then be at your working mode at the same time.

Set-up your home office

It is very important that you have an area in your house that can be set-up as your office. It must, at least, have the look of an office and the feel of an office. This will make you be in the working mindset.

Another good thing for this is that you will keep yourself (hopefully) away from any distractions.

Take a break

Just like you have a morning break, lunch break, and an afternoon break, it is also important that you don’t overwork yourself.

Working from home can tempt you to work more than you are expected. This will make you less efficient in the next days to come. Make sure to take breaks.

Socialize

I know that, with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are advised not to have so much social gatherings. However, we all need to talk to someone. Any Virtual Assistants know this.

You can socialize with your co-workers or friends through Skype or Hangouts. When you take your break or when you are done with work, take some time to talk with friends but make sure that you are disciplined enough not to be distracted by it.

I really hope that what’s happening around the world will soon neutralize and that everything will just go back to normal. As of now, this is the safest way for you, your family, and for everyone. That is why it is important that you slowly embrace this way of working.

I wish you luck and hope that you will make the necessary adjustments fast.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many industries have taken a hit but the major brunt was seen and felt almost instantly in the travel and tourism industry. It is saddening to see how the technological revolution that brought all of us together by making travel and tourism easy and affordable fueling 4 billion trips a year – is struggling to tackle a virus that demands that we stay at home and not move.

The coronavirus was first identified in late-2019 in the Wuhan region of China and is now present in dozens of countries around the globe.

Some of the critical details that you must be aware of-

â— More than 3 million cases have been confirmed.

â— More than 200 thousand deaths have been recorded.

â— 210 countries or territories have been impacted.

â— Number of cases “recovering” from symptoms over 800 thousand. Remainder still under observation or quarantine.

â— The World Health Organization declared the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19 as global pandemic from 11th March.

The outbreak of COVID-19is having an inevitable impact on the travel industry, not just limited to hotels but has affected airline, cruise, and as a result even the car rental industry a lot.

Let us have a look at the global statistics to get more clarity.

• Starting from 1st January 2020 to 29th February 2020, the room revenue trend saw a steep decline globally. It showcased a 16% month-over-month decline, for the month of Jan-Feb, this analysis was done by RateGain, a travel technology company.
• The room revenue downward trend can be directly attributed to the decrease in the overall booking during the same month. According to the research, it showcased that the reservations made during the month for any future date in the next 12 months, found that the bookings were globally down by 9%.
• The company even compared the % change of the reservation data extracted from the first week (1st-7th March 2020) to the second week of March (8-14th March 2020).
• According to the analysis, every single destination country showed a booking decline in Week 8. For instance, Italy posted a staggering 20% decline from the first week to the second week of march due to the complete lockdown across the country.

How to cope with such difficult times?

• Sadly, we don’t know when this crisis will end; all we can do is be hopeful and practice social distancing.
• What we do know is that millions of jobs are at risk, that we need to protect, especially the vulnerable segments like SMEs, self-employed, women and the youth. We need to have survival mechanisms/plans for companies.
• One thing is for sure that we need strong support in navigating the unparalleled economic and social impact of Coronavirus. Currently, what we need are fiscal and monetary measures that will help protect jobs, help the self-employed and company’s liquidity and operations and accelerate recovery.
• To help all the hoteliers today, we need an efficient travel technology platform like OPTIMA by RateGain. It helps hotels maximize their chances of getting a significant chunk of the business available in the market. The software helps provide a better understanding of the competitors who are in the same business realm.
• As one might be aware, tourism is a significant job provider for many people, especially women and youth. It is also believed that it is the sector with proven capacity to bounce back and help other sectors as well.
• Finally yet importantly, we need a strong mitigation and recovery plan that will support the sector and help generate returns across the whole economy and jobs.

In conclusion, these were some steps that the travel and hospitality sector can take for a better and safer future.