The pandemic brings three major impacts on the sustainable recovery of the world economy.

Statistics released by Johns Hopkins University in the United States on the 4th show that the cumulative number of confirmed COVID - 19 cases has exceeded 200 million. The epidemic is still spreading significantly in many regions, bringing greater uncertainties to the prospects of the world economic recovery. Analysts believe that the impact of the epidemic on consumer confidence and supply chains, as well as its magnifying effect on regional growth imbalances, are becoming the main obstacles to the sustainable recovery of the world economy.

First, the epidemic has turned consumer confidence pessimistic, restricting the driving force for recovery from the demand side. In Europe, consumers are becoming more cautious in their spending. Many consumers are worried that the epidemic will last longer than expected, thus changing their consumption attitudes. A survey released by the polling agency Ipsos in July showed that 40% of British consumers are reluctant to go on vacation abroad, and more than 40% are unwilling to participate in large - scale public gatherings. The forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that the British economy will not return to its pre - pandemic level until the beginning of 2022.

In India, where the epidemic is severe, since the government relaxed prevention and control measures in early June, the Indian economy, which mainly relies on domestic consumption, has not rebounded rapidly. Due to the rampant spread of the epidemic, both the actual income and income expectations of residents have declined, severely restricting economic recovery. Experts warn that India may face a new wave of the epidemic, and this expectation has further dampened the public's willingness to consume.

In Australia, the control measures introduced by various states to prevent the mutant novel coronavirus are seriously affecting industries such as aviation and tourism. Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said that the country's economy is expected to experience negative growth in the third quarter, and its economic performance in the fourth quarter will depend on the progress of epidemic prevention and control.

Secondly, the epidemic has made the supply bottleneck more prominent, dragging down the resilience of recovery from the supply side.

Sarah Johnson, the head of economic affairs at the market research firm IHS Markit, believes that the world is already facing supply problems such as a shortage of chips, and the mutant novel coronavirus has prompted many manufacturing countries to re - introduce strict epidemic prevention measures, which may exacerbate production capacity shortages and even a supply - chain crisis.

IMF data shows that nearly 40% of the population in developed economies has been fully vaccinated against COVID - 19, while only about 11% of the population in emerging economies has been fully vaccinated. In Southeast Asia, an important manufacturing base, the vaccination rate is even lower.

On the 4th of this month, the cumulative number of COVID - 19 deaths in Indonesia exceeded 100,000, making it the second Asian country after India to record more than 100,000 cumulative COVID - 19 deaths. Johnson believes that the production activities in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia are being restricted by a new round of the epidemic.