WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund on Thursday urged countries to work together in responding to the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak, and called for more donations to help the poorest countries deal with the escalating pandemic.
IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said it was too early to assess the impact of a sharp drop in oil prices on the global economy, but the Fund would release more precise forecasts reflecting both that development and the pandemic next month.
He said the Fund was working expeditiously to deal with all requests for coronavirus-related assistance from member countries, including Iran.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
