$10 trn spent to combat coronavirus pandemic, far more needed: IMF

Governments around the world have spent $10 trillion in fiscal actions to respond to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and its economic fallout, but significant further efforts are needed, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

New estimates suggested that up to 100 million people could fall into extreme poverty as a result of the crisis, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said, noting this would erase the past three years of gains made in poverty reduction.

The disease has infected nearly 7.4 million people around the world and 415,545 have died. The World Bank this week forecast the coronavirus