WASHINGTON, February 3, 2020—The World Bank Group issued the following statement today on the outbreak of novel coronavirus in China:
As the novel coronavirus spreads, the World Bank Group is reviewing financial and technical resources that can be mobilized quickly to support affected countries and assist the life-saving work underway to stop the transmission and mitigate the impact of this virus.
We are calling on all countries to strengthen their health surveillance and response systems, which is essential to contain the spread of this and any future outbreaks. We are closely coordinating with international partners to accelerate the international response to support countries to manage the global health emergency.
We are also monitoring the wider economic and social impacts of this crisis. We support China’s efforts to respond including its efforts to maintain resilience in its economy. We recognize that it is the poorest countries and most vulnerable populations that are often hardest hit by global disruptions like these. The World Bank Group stands ready to support all our client countries, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, to help manage the widening impact to their people of this crisis.
