COVID-19 | Recession worse than global financial crisis: IMF

Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) KristalinaGeorgieva has warned of a recession worse than the global financial crisis backin 2008.

"We're now in recession, it is way worse than the globalfinancial crisis," Georgieva said on Friday at a joint press conferencewith the World Health Organization (WHO), noting the "dual crisis" —health and economic crisis — caused by COVID-19 outbreak is unprecedented inthe history of IMF.

Georgievastressed that saving lives and protecting livelihoods ought to go hand in handas the coronavirus sweeps across the globe.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1million confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported, including more than50,000 deaths.

To accommodate this surge, the IMF is deploying a total financial capacity of $1 trillion, Georgieva said, the IMF is emphasizing to protect the economy as much as it is necessary. Noting that nearly $90 billion have flown out of emerging markets, even more than the scale seen during the 2008 global financial crisis, Georgieva said the IMF is mobilizing emergency financing assistance to emerging markets and developing economies, which are hit hard by the pandemic.

Over90 countries have placed a request to IMF for emergency financing, Georgievasaid, calling on these countries to prioritize the use of financing to payhealth workers, make sure health facilities functioning well, as well assupport vulnerable people and firms.

Shewarned a wave of bankruptcies and layoffs would make the recovery even moredifficult.