WHO’s Tedros: Coronavirus cases and deaths rising, debt relief needed for poorest nations

Speaking at a virtual news conference at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Geneva headquarters, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that his agency, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported debt relief to help developing countries battle out the coronavirus pandemic’s social and economic consequences.

Key quotes

“In the past five weeks there has been a near-exponential growth in the number of new cases and the number of deaths has more than doubled in the past week.”

“In the next few days we will reach 1 million confirmed cases and 50,000 deaths worldwide.”

Market implications

The market mood remains gloomy amid rising coronavirus cases across the globe, with major governments trying their best to contain the spread, so far in vain though.

The Asian stocks are in a sea of red while the greenback is seen recovering ground across the board amid increased haven flows.