Just when micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were gearing up to recover from two consecutive waves of COVID-19 infections, a new variant of the coronavirus – Omicron – has them worried again.
“This is definitely a cause of concern for MSMEs,” R Ramamurthy, member of the All India Council of Association of MSMEs, told Moneycontrol. “We lost six months during the first wave and another four months this year. If a third wave comes, it would only mean the death of small businesses.”
Omicron, a variant of the coronavirus with a large number of mutations, was first detected by South African scientists last month. India has so far reported 21 cases of Omicron. The World Health Organization has designated Omicron as a virus of concern, although the scale and magnitude of rise in cases and the severity of disease that will be caused by the new variant are still not clear.
The uncertainty about Omicron is reason enough to continue to take precautions. However, MSMEs are concerned that more restrictions could be imposed again, hampering their prospects.
“There is no doubt that Omicron is a threat. Definitely, nobody would want to shut operations again because it takes a lot of hard work, time and cost to restart operations,” said DP Goel, co-chairman of the MSME Committee at the PHD Chamber of Commerce.
Just when micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were gearing up to recover from two consecutive waves of COVID-19 infections, a new variant of the coronavirus – Omicron – has them worried again.
“This is definitely a cause of concern for MSMEs,” R Ramamurthy, member of the All India Council of Association of MSMEs, told Moneycontrol. “We lost six months during the first wave and another four months this year. If a third wave comes, it would only mean the death of small businesses.”
Omicron, a variant of the coronavirus with a large number of mutations, was first detected by South African scientists last month. India has so far reported 21 cases of Omicron. The World Health Organization has designated Omicron as a virus of concern, although the scale and magnitude of rise in cases and the severity of disease that will be caused by the new variant are still not clear.
The uncertainty about Omicron is reason enough to continue to take precautions. However, MSMEs are concerned that more restrictions could be imposed again, hampering their prospects.
“There is no doubt that Omicron is a threat. Definitely, nobody would want to shut operations again because it takes a lot of hard work, time and cost to restart operations,” said DP Goel, co-chairman of the MSME Committee at the PHD Chamber of Commerce.
Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/covid-hit-small-businesses-worried-about-impact-of-possible-third-wave-7801251.html