Empty streets, shuttered shops, overflowing hospitals. The entire world is at war with an invisible enemy – the novel coronavirus. With a vaccine to protect against the disease still a distant possibility, our best weapon remains staying away from each other. But while social distancing saves lives, it drags down the global economy and threatens jobs. The World Economic Situation and Prospects Monthly Briefing by UN DESA found that the COVID pandemic could shrink world economic output by 0.9 per cent in 2020, instead of growing 2.5 per cent, as previously projected. By comparison, the world economy contracted by 1.7 per cent during the global financial crisis in 2009.