ISTANBUL – The countries of the G7 bloc are ready to take measures to stem the coronavirus outbreak's potential effects on the global economy, the US Treasury said on Tuesday.
The statement came out of a teleconference of finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US – to discuss the outbreak.
The G7 countries are determined "to use all appropriate policy tools to achieve strong, sustainable growth and safeguard against downside risks," said the US Treasury.
"Alongside strengthening efforts to expand health services, G7 finance ministers are ready to take actions, including fiscal measures where appropriate, to aid in the response to the virus and support the economy during this phase," said the statement.
The virus, which was first detected in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has caused thousands of deaths globally and infected tens of thousands.
Economists expect the virus will damage the global economy by disrupting supply chains, including in such sectors as civil aviation, tourism and manufacturing and trade.
In Beijing, National Health Commission announced that the death toll from coronavirus or Covid-19 outbreak in China rose to 2,945 on Tuesday.
The commission said 31 more people died in the last 24 hours while 125 new cases were detected by authorities, with the total number of confirmed cases now exceeding 80,000.
All of the latest deaths occurred at the epicenter of the outbreak, Hubei province.
At least 40,651 people are currently under medical care, while the number of discharged patients totals 47,204.
Outside mainland China, there are 100 registered cases in Hong Kong.
The World Health Organization (WHO), which already declared the outbreak an international health emergency Friday, has raised the global coronavirus alert level from high to "very high."
The WHO said on Tuesday the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases outside of China has reached 10,566.
The latest statistics showed that 1,792 new confirmed cases were reported outside of China, bringing the total to more than 10,000 for the first time.
The organization also said there have been confirmed cases in 72 countries outside of China with 166 deaths.
The international health agency issues daily report of confirmed cases across the world based on information released by countries worldwide. (Anadulo with reports from Xinhua)
