We have marked unprecedented changes since the outbreak of the epidemic. The coronavirus visited the inhabitants of the earth without any invitation. 

All cafes and bars, shops and museums were closed, offices were shut down and workers returned home to work online. Several people lost their jobs and incomes. Finally everyone stuck at home. And before a new sequence of actions begins, it is interesting to note some changes that has taken place in the field of translation.

In February 2020, a survey conducted in China on the impact of COVID-19 on language services showed that many businesses in this field like interpreting and written translation companies, localization (localization), technical development or editing, foreign language courses, software and consulting as well as publishing services were able to maintain their normal functioning before to the full return to the business life.   Since the outbreak the changes were minor. Most translators continued to work from home as previously. Translation services have been working remotely for a long time and not much has changed in the various procedures. While coronavirus was spreading over from one country to another, the translation agencies were in the process of informing their partner companies and freelance translators, that COVID-19 do not impacted their activity and most of them will continue to work as before. Some translation business recorded several positive and negative changes as follows.

1. The interpreters were impacted on the greatest stage. Various conferences and meetings organized months ago were postponed or canceled; consequently the work of most   interpreters was suspended for an indefinite period of time.

2. There were also positive changes in the field of interpreting. Most of the meetings were organized online and many interpreters started working distantly. Another substantive change have taken place․ Many interpreters and translators have spontaneously moved to the field of phone interpreting though in the not-so-recent past, several of them avoided this type of service because of its unique subtleties. On the other hand, several translation companies that were previously struggling to offer phone interpreting to the customers were now registering a significant increase in orders.

3. The role of medical translators increased. They have worked in most dangerous points of the epidemic as well as in various medical, travel, immigration centers to provide a substantial translation service to the foreign citizens.

4. There was a considerable increase of orders for the epidemic procedures, precautions, and various forms of paperwork. In the general chaos, customer service in different languages has become irreplaceable. The translations related to the health care information, travel advice, and hygiene guidelines increased. They were translated in different languages for large businesses such as banks, healthcare companies, airlines, online tourism platforms and food supply companies.  

5. Despite the long-term working conditions, translation services continued to invest, expand, and improve existing resources. For example, new measures were taken in the security platforms and in the data recording environment. Some offices have started reviewing their business models within a company, updating the old and developing new ones that will respond to risky situations with maximum efficiency and speed.

Despite all the positive and negative changes, it is difficult to expect large-scale labor flow in the conditions of slowdown and paralysis of the general economy. There is one hope: global change brings global work.