Economic devastation looms on a Good Friday like no other [View all]
Source: AP
By ARITZ PARRA and ELENA BECATOROS
MADRID (AP) — Christians around the world observed a Good Friday like no other, at home watching livestreams instead of at church, as pressure mounted on governments to restart some industries and fend off further economic devastation from the coronavirus.
Worldwide, the death toll closed in on 100,000, with the confirmed number of infected topping 1.6 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are believed to be much higher because of limited testing, different rules for counting the dead and cover-ups by some governments.
In addition to the lives lost, the pandemic has slammed economies around the world. The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the global economy is headed for the worst recession since the Depression. The U.N. labor organization said 195 million full-time jobs could be lost in the second quarter alone.
In Europe, the 19 countries that use the euro currency overcame weeks of bitter divisions to agree on spending $550 billion to cushion the recession caused by the virus. Mario Centeno, who heads the eurozone finance ministers’ group, called the package “totally unprecedented. ... Tonight Europe has shown it can deliver when the will is there.”
Priest Frank Heidkamp talks to believers in their cars prior a Good Friday church service at a drive-in cinema when all German churches are closed for worships due to the coronavirus outbreak in Duesseldorf, Germany, Friday, April 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Read more: https://apnews.com/8233264cd1a25eb2e583ef9f5e4f8d37
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