Paris: The world could witness another slowdown just like the financial crisis ten years back if the deadly Corona virus keeps spreading without respite.
A report by an international think tank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has lowered its forecasts for global growth in 2020 by half a percentage to 2.4%. It warned that the growth rate could go even lower to 1.5% if the virus keeps spreading to a wider extent.
The OECD, which is based in Paris, however, is upbeat about the global growth this year and expects it to rebound the next fiscal if the virus is contained.
The organisation said that the reduced production of China is hitting Asia and also companies that depend on Chinese goods. The impact of Covid-19 is higher than past outbreaks of the virus because the world is more integrated now and China is a leading player in the world’s economy.
European Union Markets Commissioner said that the continent has lost 2 billion Euros in tourism alone because of a drop in Chinese travelers. The situation could become worse if the virus itself spreads to Europe and around the world.
There is a great need for all the governments to work together to contain the spread of Covid-19 or it could lead to a global disaster, likes of which we have not seen before.
