IMF, World Bank funds ready to fight virus outbreak: spokesman

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are ready to provide countries in need with immediate emergency funding to fight the coronavirus outbreak, a spokesman said on Thursday.

While they have yet to receive a request for aid, the institutions "have now developed contingency plans. We have various financial instruments that could be used," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said at a press conference.

As the epidemic has spread beyond China, shuttering production and closing schools in Japan, economists are increasingly worried about a slowdown in the global economy.

"We have various financial instruments that could be used to support countries with balance of payment problems that arise from epidemics or natural disasters," Rice said, noting that the lenders rapidly deployed funds during the Ebola epidemic.

He singled out China, saying the IMF remains "very supportive" of the country where the coronavirus outbreak started with efforts to tackle its spread.

The fund and the World Bank ...