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This study examines the impact of e‐commerce on the survival rate of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during the COVID‐19 pandemic using a combined dataset from the Enterprise Survey for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China for the period from 2018 to 2020. We conducted a difference‐in‐differences analysis by exploiting the variation in the adoption of e‐commerce across SMEs before and after the outbreak of COVID‐19. The results show that e‐commerce had a significantly positive effect on the survival rate of SMEs during the crisis. Specifically, it improved the survival rate of SMEs by 3.0 to 3.4 percentage points by expanding the scale of the enterprises' markets, mitigating declines in orders, shortening the repayment periods of accounts receivable, and improving cash flow during a pandemic. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the impact of e‐commerce was more pronounced for SMEs with a larger share of online sales and for labor‐intensive SMEs, and third‐party e‐commerce platforms or Web sites played a bigger role than self‐built Web sites and social media. This study offers novel evidence highlighting the value of digitalization for firms during the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-infection with diverse bacteria is commonly seen in patients infected with the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. This type of co-infection significantly impacts the occurrence and development of novel coronavirus infection. Bacterial co-pathogens are typically identified in the respiratory system and blood culture, which complicates the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of COVID-19, and even exacerbates the severity of disease symptoms and increases mortality rates. However, the status and impact of bacterial co-infections during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been properly studied. Recently, the amount of literature on the co-infection of SARS-CoV-2 and bacteria has gradually increased, enabling a comprehensive discussion on this type of co-infection. In this study, we focus on bacterial infections in the respiratory system and blood of patients with COVID-19 because these infection types significantly affect the severity and mortality of COVID-19. Furthermore, the progression of COVID-19 has markedly elevated the antimicrobial resistance among specific bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae , in clinical settings including intensive care units (ICUs). Grasping these resistance patterns is pivotal for the optimal utilization and stewardship of antibiotics, including fluoroquinolones. Our study offers insights into these aspects and serves as a fundamental basis for devising effective therapeutic strategies. We primarily sourced our articles from PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar. We queried these databases using specific search terms related to COVID-19 and its co-infections with bacteria or fungi, and selectively chose relevant articles for inclusion in our review., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024 Liu et al.)