Bank Of England Governor Says Coronavirus Disease Leading To Economic Challenges In UK

Bank of England Governor Says Coronavirus Disease Leading to Economic Challenges in UK

Treatment and quarantine methods used to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, officially named COVID-19, are having a significant impact on global supply chains and tourism flows, which could lead to economic challenges in the United Kingdom, outgoing Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday during an interview with the Sky News broadcaster

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2020) Treatment and quarantine methods used to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, officially named COVID-19, are having a significant impact on global supply chains and tourism flows, which could lead to economic challenges in the United Kingdom, outgoing Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday during an interview with the Sky News broadcaster.

Carney praised the efforts of health officials across the world who are taking all the necessary efforts to contain the disease but added that economic activity in regions that are subject to quarantine has ground to a halt.

"We would expect world growth would be lower than it otherwise would be, and that has a knock-on effect on the UK," Carney told the broadcaster.

The outgoing governor, who is set to be replaced in March, stated that global supply chains were being squeezed by the outbreak.

"What we are picking up with some of our bigger companies and companies around the world is that supply chains ... are getting a little tight. That's lower activity," Carney stated.

The governor also cited reduced tourist numbers in the UK since the start of the outbreak as a further challenge for the UK economy.

Other countries have been feeling the pressure since the COVID-19 outbreak, as car manufacturers in South Korea were forced to close or reduce production at a number of plants due to shortages of Chinese-made parts during the Lunar New Year holidays.

On Friday, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty reported two more cases of COVID-19 in the UK, bringing the overall total to 19. According to Whitty, the disease was passed on while the individuals were in Iran.

The outbreak has spread significantly across the globe in recent days. In a press briefing on Thursday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the number of new cases reported outside of China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the second day in a row.

The coronavirus disease was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December and has so far infected more than 83,700 people, resulting in the deaths of over 2,850 people. Over a third of the people who have contracted the disease have since been cured, including more than 3,770 individuals over the last 24 hours.