Sri Lanka, May 22 -- Passersby wearing protective face masks following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are reflected on a screen displaying stock prices outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, March 17, 2020.

REUTERS/Issei Kato - RC2ELF9MV301

The headline-making coronavirus continues to spread with nearly 5.0 million confirmed cases and 320,000 deaths across globally as at 19th May.

There is no way to tell exactly what the economic damage from this pandemic will be. Too much depends on what is unknowable - how long the outbreak lasts, how many countries it afflicts badly and the extent to which a coordinated, concerted, fast-track policy response is mobilised and sustained.

The Covid-19 crisis will have a multifaceted i...