Coronavirus will cut world economic growth this year and could push the eurozone into recession if the epidemic gets worse than projected, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Monday.
This year’s growth is on track to fall by half a percentage point, to 2.4 percent, if COVID-19 is contained largely to China and peaks in the first quarter of 2020, the global economics think tank said in an assessment of the outbreak’s impact.
In a more pessimistic scenario, global growth could drop as much as 1.5 percentage points in 2020, which “could push several economies into recession, including Japan and the euro area,” the OECD said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday will announce a team to coordinate responses to coronavirus, cutting across several policy areas and sectors.
The task force will consist of commissioners Janez Lenarčič, for crisis management, plus Stella Kyriakides for health, Adina Vălean for transport, Ylva Johansson of home affairs and Paolo Gentiloni on economic matters.
Von der Leyen will formally unveil the team at noon along with a website, representing a one-stop shop for information on COVID-19 in the EU, at the Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre.