World faces ‘Great Depression’ as death soars in US, Europe
If we do not seize the opportunity to put new life into the European project, the risk of failure is real.”
Giuseppe Conte
Italian Prime Minister
BRUSSELS — World powers scrambled on Thursday to build a global response to the human tragedy and once-in-a-century economic catastrophe caused by the coronavirus epidemic, as death tolls in the US and Europe soared higher.
In a locked-down New York, the UN Security Council was to meet on the pandemic for the first time. And, by video conference, EU finance ministers were wrangling over how to bail out their worst hit members Italy and Spain.
“We anticipate the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression,” said International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva, warning that all but a handful of countries will see incomes fall and urging governments to provide ‘lifelines’ to businesses and households alike.
On the spiritual front, Pope Francis was preparing to celebrate Maundy Thursday, but he was to be unable to perform the tradition of washing the feet of the faithful in case of infection.
And Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned worshippers to pray at home rather than in crowded mosques, even when the holy month of Ramadan begins later this month.
Meanwhile, the number of worldwide cases of the novel coronavirus since it spread from China earlier this year topped 1.5 million, according to an AFP tally. More than 88,981 people have died. Alongside the personal tragedies and the pressure on overburdened hospitals, there has been a stark economic toll, with the World Trade Organisation warning of the “worst recession of our lifetimes.”
The worst-hit countries in Europe — the worst hit continent — are Italy and Spain, where daily death tolls are now down from their peaks but still running high, despite strict lockdowns.
Spain’s daily fatalities fell to 683 on Thursday, down from 757 the day before, while its total passed 15,000.
Madrid and Rome are seeking assistance from EU partners to rebuild their economies in the wake of the disaster, but Germany has rejected the idea of joint borrowing and the Netherlands is blocking a compromise solution.
EU finance ministers were to meet later Thursday by videoconference for the second late-night crisis talks of the week to try to agree terms to allow hard-hit members to access funds.
“If we do not seize the opportunity to put new life into the European project, the risk of failure is real,” Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte told the BBC, suggesting the very future of the EU was at stake.
Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank, said it was ‘vital’ that ministers hatch a plan big enough to meet the challenge, warning: “If not all countries are cured, the others will suffer.”
European companies are also suffering under a public lockdown, which health experts say is vital to slow the virus’ spread but has effectively frozen economic life. In one example, German airline Lufthansa warned it was losing $1.08 million an hour and would need state aid. —