News Room

With the Covid-19 virus disrupting the global economy, what is the effect on the international supply chain? In a pair of articles, MIT News examines core supply-chain issues, in terms of affected industries and the timing of unfolding interruptions.

At the Costco in Spokane Valley, Wash., the store is practicing social distancing by limiting how many customers can be in the store at one time. A line wrapped around the building Friday, March 20, 2020, but was moving so that the wait was only around 10-15 minutes. (Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review via AP)

When asked how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is impacting patients in need of an organ transplant, Sridhar Tayur said there is good news and bad news on that front. Tayur is the Ford distinguished research chair and professor of operations management at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, and he has been paying close attention to the subject of organ transplants during the current crisis. 

On Friday morning, Matthew Johnson-Roberson sat at his office window in Ann Arbor, Michigan, looking out at his favorite restaurant gone dark. As cities and states rush to stem the spread of the coronavirus, restaurants across the country are closing doors to eat-in diners. “The economic impact is huge,” said Johnson-Roberson, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Michigan. “I’m really worried that these restaurants aren’t going to come back.”

As the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb statewide and across the country, the health care industry is bracing for a surge in demand of medical supplies.