G7 to deploy all possible policy tools to combat virus,

toKyo (reuters) – Group of seven finance officials said on tuesday they will use all appropriate policy tools to achieve strong, sustainable global growth and safeguard against downside risks posed by the fast-spreading coronavirus.

G7 finance ministers were ready to take action, including fiscal measures where appropriate, to aid the response, japanese Finance minister taro aso told reporters. central banks would continue to support price stability and economic growth, he said.

“We reaffirmed our commitment to adopt all appropriate policy steps to protect the economy from downside risks posed by the coronavirus, and that we stand ready to cooperate further on timely and effective measures,” aso said after a G7 call.

he was short on specifics and said the desirable policy response would vary from country to country.

asked if all appropriate policy steps would include both monetary and fiscal policies, aso said: “yes, anything will be included, both monetary and fiscal steps.”

the G7’s united front offset anxiety over the coronavirus’s rapid spread in dozens of countries and aided a recovery in world stocks and oil prices.

“this is a tug of war between hope and fear,” said Vasu menon, senior investment strategist at ocBc Bank

Wealth management. “central banks are giving hopes with their potential stimulus.”

“the question is what they will do? monetary policy is already very loose, and interest rates are very low,” he said.

German Finance minister olaf scholz said the G7 had “all means” at its disposal.

“should the need arise, we have all the means to counter a global downturn,” he said in a statement posted on twitter.

Global stocks suffered a rout last week over fears the disruption to supply chains, factory output and global travel caused by the epidemic could deal a serious blow to a world economy trying to recover from the us-china trade war.

the coronavirus, which emerged in the central chinese city of Wuhan late last year, has spread around the world over the past week, with more new cases now appearing outside china than within.

there are more than 90,000 cases globally, with more than 80,000 of them in china, and infections appearing in 77 other countries and territories, with ukraine the latest country to report its first case.

china’s death toll is 2,943, with more than 75 deaths elsewhere.

new cases in china have been falling sharply, with 125 reported on tuesday, thanks to aggressive containment measures.

after what critics said was an initially hesitant response, china imposed sweeping restrictions, including suspensions of transportation, sealing off communities and extending a lunar new year holiday across the country.

china is increasingly concerned about the virus being brought back into the country by citizens returning from new hot spots elsewhere. authorities on tuesday asked overseas chinese to reconsider or minimize their plans to travel home.

all travelers entering Beijing from south Korea, japan, Iran and Italy would have to be quarantined for 14 days, a city official said. shanghai has introduced a similar order.

the most serious outbreak outside china is in south Korea, where president moon jae-in declared war on the virus, ordering additional hospital beds and more masks as cases rose by 600 to nearly 5,000. thirty-four people have died in south Korea.

In the united states, the virus is now believed to be present in at least four communities in the pacific northwest – two in northern california, one in oregon and one in Washington state – and authorities there are having to go well beyond the quarantine of infected travelers and tracing of close contacts, which until now had been the response.

six people have died in the seattle outbreak. the us centers for disease control and prevention lists more than 90 cases across the united states, a large bulk of them patients repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise liner that had been quarantined in japan.

the death toll in Italy jumped to 52 on monday from 34 the day before, and the total number of confirmed cases in europe’s worst-affected country climbed past the 2,000 mark.

Germany reported 31 new infections, taking its tally of total cases to 188.

Britain unveiled its “battle plan” to tackle the spread of coronavirus on tuesday, warning that as many as a fifth of employees could be off work at the peak of the outbreak.

the uK has so far confirmed 51 cases of the virus, also known as coVId19, and prime minister Boris johnson said it was “highly likely” the country would see a growing number of cases.

the government’s plan includes possible school closures, home working and canceling large-scale gatherings to slow the spread of the outbreak. Businesses could be given extra time to pay their taxes if they are facing short-term, cash-flow issues.

“this is a national challenge... I think we’ll get through it in very good shape,” johnson told a news conference alongside england’s chief medical officer chris Whitty and the government’s chief scientific adviser patrick Vallance.

the government said its strategy was aimed at delaying the peak of the outbreak until the summer.

If the outbreak worsens, the government said it would move from seeking containment and delay to mitigating its impact.