Ten leading tech companies have pledged to donate a significant amount of funds to help contain the novel Coronavirus. Data gathered by Learnbonds.com indicates that the companies have offered at least $1.4 billion towards mitigating the virus.
Top on the list is California based Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) that has donated about $800 million that will be used to support businesses, organizations and healthcare workers as part of its coronavirus response that also includes free advertising on its various platforms. Cisco has also pledged about $225 million towards the course. On the other hand, social networking giant Facebook has donated $120 million while the Dell Foundation has pledged $100 million.
Streaming service provider Netflix has set aside $115 million for the creative community as a coronavirus relief fund. Other notable donations to fight the COVID-19 pandemic have come from Amazon ($32 million), Samsung ($29 million), Apple ($15 million), Microsoft ($1 Million) and Twitter ($1 million).
The need for donations
The pandemic has put a strain on the healthcare system and the economy and most donations are focused on addressing these areas. Generally, the donations by the tech companies will go to causes like buying equipment, supporting the vulnerable, sensitization of the masses among others.
Since the World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic, most companies and philanthropists came on board and made donations towards fighting the crisis.
By press time, the Coronavirus cases stood at 1,349,956 with 74,822 deaths and 286,887 recoveries. The United States is the most hit country with 367,650 cases. Notably, the majority of tech companies that have donated towards fighting the pandemic are American based.
The pandemic has crippled the global economy, something evident with the crushing stock market. It is not clear when the economy will be back to normal considering that it is still uncertain when the pandemic will end. However, the travel and tourism industry is the most hit following the grounding of many planes and countries being placed on lockdown as a measure to curb the spread of the virus.
For example, the EU banned travelers from outside the block for 30 days in a move aimed to close its borders. In the US, the government banned travelers from European airports from entering the country. Additionally, most people seized from flying and airlines tried luring clients by cheap flights, a strategy that did not work in the long term.
Travel and tourism industry revenue to slump by 40% in 2020
An overview of the leading travel and tourism industries shows that in 2020 and it is projected that China will be the biggest loser. According to the projection, the industry will drop from $117.8 billion in 2019 to about $70.5 billion in 2020. China was the first country to be impacted by the virus and as a result, more airlines suspended flights to the country.
On the other hand, the United States travel and tourism sector will be the second most impacted by losing about $15.6 billion in revenue. Last year the US revenue stood at $156.27 billion while 2020’s projections stand at $140.64 billion. In Europe, Italy will lose about $4.8 billion in revenue. Last year, the country’s tourism sector revenue was $20.26 billion.
On the other hand, Germany will lose $3.18 billion, after recording a revenue of $31.82 billion. By projection, the four countries alone will lose $70.88 billion due to the pandemic in 2020.
Notably, Italy and Germany are among the most hit countries hit with the pandemic in Europe. Italy has at least 132,000 cases with about 16,500 deaths. On the other hand, Germany has recorded at least 103,000 cases with about 1800 deaths.
While other businesses are finding means of helping combat the pandemic, the travel, and tourism industry will be searching for a way out into recovery once the crisis is over.
Generally, there are fears that the spread of Coronavirus will fully cripple economies and most jurisdictions have come up with measures to contain the situation. In response, central banks in many countries have slashed interest rates while rolling out stimulus packages to aid citizens and small businesses in the course of the crisis.
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