Coronavirus hasn’t devastated the global economy yet – but it could if it’s not contained soon

The outbreak has come at a bad time in the economic cycle, and with no sign of it being controlled, it’s not surprising that the markets are troubled

How grave is the likely impact of coronavirus on the world economy?

That might seem a callous question to pose when people are dying, and it is certainly far too early to be able to give a definitive answer. But the world is having to make a decision on how to react. In the case of the UK, the government is considering how to evacuate British citizens from Wuhan, with the first flight reportedly scheduled for Thursday. The harsh fact is that China is the world’s second-largest economy as well as being the world’s most populous nation, and large parts of it are in effect being cut off from the rest of the world.