Page 19 - Forbes - Africa (March 2020)

FORBES AFRICA
FOCUS • CORONAVIRUS

WhilemostoftheHubei-borncoronavirus-relateddeaths
haveoccurredinChina,therehavebeenmultiplecasesofpeople
contractingthevirusinotherpartsoftheworld.Todate*,thereare
noconfirmedcasesofthevirusinSouthAfricabutaccordingtoDr
CherylCohenfromtheNationalInstituteforCommunicableDiseases
(NICD),itislikelythatwewillseeacase.
DrAnchenLaubscher,Netcare’sgroupmedicaldirector,saysthat
theNetcareGroupisreadytorespondtoandmanageanycases,should
theneedarise:“Netcarehasdevelopedasetofcomprehensiveclinical
riskassessmentpathwaysinconsultationwiththeNICD,thatare
beingusedtoassessalladmissionsforpossibleexposuretothevirus,”
shesays.“Theseareusedroutinelyanddiligentlyasaprecautionary
measurebyouremergencymedicalpersonnel,doctorsandhospital
stafftoassessanypatientwhomayhavebeenexposedtoriskfactors

associatedwithcoronavirus.” Netcare has developed a set of
NICD,togetherwiththeNationalDepartmentofHealth(NDOH)
andNationalHealthLaboratoryService(NHLS),areonhighalert, comprehensive clinical risk assessment
implementingstrictvigilanceforanypossiblecase.Theyhave pathways in consultation with the NICD, that
developedanddistributedclinicalguidelinesandcasedefinitionsfor are being used to assess all admissions for
doctorsandnurses,inboththepublicandprivatesectors,toensure
detection,identificationandappropriateresponsetoanypossiblecase possible exposure to the virus.
ofimportedcoronavirusinfection.
Butthecoronaviruasoutbreakisalsoimpactingbusinessesatalocal
level.ThoseattendingMWChadtheirtripscancelled. Meanwhile,atHuawei,allbusinesstripstoandfromHubei
Surgicalmasksalesareatanall-timehighthankstoaglobal Provincehavebeensuspendedindefinitely,withthecompany’s
“chronicshortage”,saystheWorldHealthOrganization. operationsinofficesoutsideChinacontinuingasusual,fromsupply
“MWCbeingcancelledisnotaboutnothavingastand,butallthe todelivery.WhileHuaweidonotanticipateanyeffectonitsAfrican
investmentthathasgoneintotravelarrangementsandpreparingfor operations,allitsChineseemployeesrecentlydispatchedonoverseas
Images thosestands.Itisdifficulttorepurposeforsmaller,localandfuture assignments,alongwiththeirfamilymembersandanyotherswhohave

events,”addsGoldstuck.
hadclosecontactwiththem,arecurrentlybeingquarantinedoutside
Getty HSESolutions,oneofthebiggestlocalsuppliersoftheN95surgical theirplacesofworktoensuretheyarenotunknowingcarriers.
AccordingtoDavidShapiro,SasfinSecurities’DeputyChairman,
via mask,haveseenanunprecedentedamountofmaskorders.Theirclient SouthAfrica’sbiggestexposureisthroughthecommoditymarkets:
basearebuyingmasksforChinaandanemployeeatteststheyhave
Images/LightRocket supplytechnologyandtelemetrysolutionsthroughoutAfrica,have willaffectanythingspecificbutIthinkwhatistheworryisthatitwill
stoppedtakingordersfromnewclients.
“Ifthefactoriesareclosedforalittlebit,I’mnotsurewhetherthis
CompanieslikeSunstoneLogisticSystems,whodevelopand
causeaslowdownintheChineseeconomyandnaturally,affectthe
demandforcommoditiesthatwesupply…thatisintheory.Inpractice,
felttheimpactofthecoronavirusoutbreakontheirChineseimports.
ithasn’thammeredcommodityprices,ithasn’tbroughtthemdown
AccordingtoSathianChetty,SunstoneLogisticSystems’telematics

Asio/SOPA manager,theyhavenotbeenabletogettheirshipmentsoutof dramaticallyotherthantheoilpricewhichactuallyworksinourfavor,”
Shapiroexplains.“Theworryisthatprices[ofthose]likeironore,
mainlandChina:“BoththesupplierandDHLhaveconfirmedthat
thereisaholdonallChineseshipments.Ourstockcannotbedelivered
coalandothercommoditiesthatwesupplywouldcomedownandof
toourclientsinNigeria,Tanzania,MozambiqueandZambiawhich
course,othercommoditiesingeneralthatweproduce,whetherit’s
Maverick meanstelemetryunitscannotbefittedtovehiclesandafewofour platinumorpalladium.ThefactthattheChinesegovernmentistrying
projectshavebeenputontemporaryhold.”
itsbesttostabilizetheChineseeconomyhassteadiedtheissue.”
Shapiro adds that the fear of the coronavirus has manifested itself
Accordingtoamajorimporterfinancebusinessbasedin
by Johannesburg,oneofthebiggestproblemstheyhavefacedismany in the weakness of the currency. In other words, the fear that the
Photo ofthefactoriesthroughoutChinahavebeenshutdown.Andwhile global economy is going to slow down and that it will affect emerging

markets: “As the rand appreciates, it does help our exports but it does
somehavestartedtoreopen,therawmaterialsneededtobegin
supplied; manufacturinghavetobeprocuredfirst.Often,thesematerialscome make a lot of things that we import more expensive and it pushes up
inflation,” he ends.
fromseparatefactoriesscatteredacrossChnawhichhasledtoa
Photo furtherdelayinthesupplychain.Soitwillbesome time before goods * As of February 14 2020
can get back onto ships heading to Africa.

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