The economic cost from the outbreak of coronavirus
The economic cost from the outbreak of coronavirus strain COVID-19 is still uncertain but countries must work together to combat it, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said Thursday in Washington, DC.
Speaking to an empty briefing room, the IMF decided not to invite reporters into the regular news briefing as part of an effort to limit gatherings and transmission of the virus.
Taking questions online, Rice said that the forecast will for growth in 2020 will undoubtedly be lower than predicted at the beginning of the year.
“So on the first economic impact, as we have said, under any scenario, the global growth in 2020 will drop below last year's level, which was 2.9 percent. How far will it fall? How long? What's our forecast? It's difficult to predict at this point, obviously, given the uncertainty. It depends, of course, on the spread, the propagation of the of the outbreak. It depends on the measures taken to respond and how effective they are,” Rice said.
The IMF and World Bank have announced that they will hold their upcoming Spring Meetings in a virtual setting. Rice committed to releasing all the regular briefings and publications but due to travel restrictions and precautionary measures they would be presented to authorities and the public online.
“What we have been seeing is indeed international cooperation is essential to effectively address the Corona virus outbreak. Again, obviously, this is not a disease… This is not something that stops at national borders. We need to work together,” Rice said.
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