(UTV|USA) – Bars, restaurants, theatres and movie houses in New York and Los Angeles were ordered to shut down and several nations in South and Central America closed their borders in the latest moves around the world to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The U.S. Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in an emergency move and other central banks took similar aggressive steps to cushion the economic impact, but stock markets and the dollar continued to tumble on Monday.
Leaders of the G7 countries will hold a video conference on Monday to discuss a joint response to the coronavirus outbreak, officials have said.
The coordinated policy actions were reminiscent of the sweeping steps taken just over a decade ago to fight a meltdown of the global financial system, but this time the target is an entirely unfamiliar foe – a fast-spreading health crisis with no certain end in sight that is forcing entire societies to effectively shut down.