Coronavirus: Global economy now in recession - IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva says

The International Monetary Fund chief, Kristalina Georgieva has alerted the world leaders that the global economy is now in a recession following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. 

The 66-year-old Bulgarian economist made this known during a press briefing over the weekend, and said that she was pleased to see world leaders finally realizing that only a coordinated effort will help halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“We have stated that the world is now in recession and that the length and depth of this recession depend on two things: Containing the virus and having an effective, coordinated response to the crisis,” she told CNBC’s Sara Eisen. 

“I’m very encouraged by what I see now. I see much clearer understanding [among global leaders] that if we don’t beat it everywhere we won’t be able to get out of it,” she added.

“We should not go ... with small measures now when we know that it is a gigantic crisis,” she said minutes later. “We’ve never seen the world economy standing still. Now we [do]. How we go about revitalizing it is another important topic.”

This comes days after the international body said it “stands ready” to use its $1 trillion lending capacity to help countries around the world that are struggling with the humanitarian and economic impact of the novel coronavirus.

On March 16, Georgieva wrote that the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust “can help the poorest countries with immediate debt relief, which will free up vital resources for health spending, containment, and mitigation.”