A United Nations report says COVID-19 has “unleashed an unprecedented” health and economic crisis throughout the world.
The UN Department of Economic and Social Development (DESA) questioned whether the economic impact of the virus is even greater than that experienced during the Depression.
In a Wednesday tweet, DESA summarized its report. It wrote: “Is the impact of #COVID19 worse than the #Great Depression?
- World economy to shrink by 3.2% in 2020.
- Developed counties’ economies to contract by 5.0%
- Developing countries to shrink by 0.7%.
“With the large-scale restrictions of economic activities and heightened uncertainties, the global economy has come to a virtual standstill in the second quarter of 2020,” said Elliott Harris, UN chief economist. “We are now facing the grim reality of a severe recession of a magnitude not seen since the Great Depression.”
The UN report, detailed by Axios, maintains that without a quick breakthrough in vaccine development and treatment, “the post COVID-19 world will likely be vastly different”, from the one people knew.
Meanwhile Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program., said the coronavirus might never be eliminated., according to CNN.
"This virus just may become another endemic virus in our communities and this virus may never go away. HIV hasn't gone away," Ryan said. "I'm not comparing the two diseases, but I think it is important that we're realistic. I don't think anyone can predict when or if this disease will disappear.”
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.