South African businesses are concerned over the impact of the current coronavirus lockdown on their activities, with 54 percent of firms saying they cannot survive beyond three months under this atmosphere, according to Statistics South Africa on Tuesday.
In a report released here, StatsSA said a survey of over 700 firms conducted between 30 March and 13 April revealed that the country’s businesses were in dire straits since the curtailing of their activities on 27 March.
The survey said that five in six businesses surveyed reported having experienced a drop in turnover, with 85.4 percent of the businesses surveyed reporting a turnover of below the normal range during the first two weeks of the nationwide lockdown.
Businesses in the construction, real estate and other business services, and transport industries were the most affected by lower-than-expected turnover, the survey showed.
The report further showed that 42.2 percent of respondents indicated that they were not confident that they would have financial resources to continue operating should the lockdown be extended beyond three months.
The lockdown is currently set to end on 30 April following a two-week extension of the initial curfew that was due to end on 16 April.
“Half of the businesses surveyed have temporarily closed their doors, the industries reporting the highest percentages of temporary closure, or (temporarily) paused trading activity were construction, manufacturing, trade and mining,” Stats SA said.
The coronavirus outbreak has seen South Africa recording more than 3,300 cases and 58 deaths since early March.
NM/jn/APA