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Germany and France, the EU's two largest economies, are bracing for a painful recession as the coronavirus pandemic slashes output to the lowest levels in decades, AFP reports.
Gross domestic product in export powerhouse Germany is expected to shrink by nearly 10% in the second quarter as shutdowns aimed at slowing the outbreak paralyse the global economy, the country's leading research institutes said in a report.
Germany's second-quarter plunge in GDP should be twice as big as any during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and would mark the steepest fall since the institutes' records began in 1970.
France is already in a technical recession, the Bank of France said, after official data showed the economy shrank 0.1% in the last quarter of 2019, and current estimates suggest it contracted around six percent in the first three months of 2020.
A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
According to the central bank, France's first-quarter performance was its worst since 1945.
The dire forecasts bring down the curtain on years of growth in two of the European Union's wealthiest nations.
Governments in France and Germany have promised vast rescue packages to cushion the coronavirus blow for companies and employees, as have other European capitals.
Update on Boris Johnson
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was "responding to treatment", a spokesperson said Wednesday, as the 55-year-old leader spent a third day in intensive care battling the coronavirus.
AFP reports that the disease has struck at the heart of the British government and infected more than 55 000 people across the country and killed nearly 6 200.
"The prime minister remains clinically stable and is responding to treatment," his official spokesman said. "He continues to be cared for in the intensive care unit in St Thomas' Hospital. He is in good spirits."
Earlier, junior health minister Edward Argar told Sky News that Johnson was "not on ventilation".
Crackdown in Ireland
Irish police have set up nationwide traffic checkpoints armed with new powers to enforce a lockdown designed to stem the spread of the coronavirus, AFP reports.
Emergency legislation passed in the Irish parliament two weeks ago allows the government to curb non-essential travel during the crisis.
People violating the ban risk a fine of up to 2 500 euros and/or six months in prison.
"The regulations now are in effect," Garda - Irish police - commissioner Drew Harris said at a press conference.
"People only should be moving if they have an essential reason to move throughout the country. What we'll be doing is making sure that movement is essential."
Over 2 500 officers will be involved in the operation at any one time as it runs from noon Wednesday until midnight on Sunday, with an extension possible.
