Published: 17 December 2020
The first outbreak of COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus disease, began in Wuhan, China. The Government of China officially informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about COVID-19 on December 31, 2019. The WHO issued a global public health alert regarding the virus on January 30, 2020, and declared it a pandemic on March 11, 2020. From January 2020 onward, the coronavirus spread from Wuhan to various countries around the world. As the virus reached nearly every country, many nations imposed lockdowns starting in March 2020. Consequently, economic activities across the globe, including in major economies of Europe, America, and Asia, came to a near standstill. The global economy suffered significant losses. Due to COVID-19, the global ready-made garment (RMG) market was projected to contract by approximately USD 297 billion in 2020.
During the initial phase of the coronavirus outbreak, the global supply chain system, encompassing production, marketing, and distribution networks, faced unprecedented disruptions. Countries with strong supply chain linkages to China were particularly affected. Following the outbreak in China, various global brands temporarily closed nearly all of their garment retail outlets in the country between January and March, while China also suspended its manufacturing activities. After lockdowns were imposed across Europe and America from March onward, the majority of garment retail establishments in those regions were effectively shut down.
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