The coronavirus crisis has exposed the need for our health systems to be more resilient to crises of such gravity. While it is too early to draw conclusions, three aspects deserve consideration. By Francesca Colombo.

Many economies will fall into recession, as the global lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic will affect sectors amounting to up to one third of GDP in the major economies, a new OECD update says. OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría has called for “sharper action to absorb the shock, and a more coordinated response by governments”.

By OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría: The coronavirus pandemic is causing large-scale loss of life and is a public health crisis without precedent in living memory, which is testing our collective capacity to respond. We need a level of ambition similar to that of the Marshall plan, but at a global scale.

“Social distancing” has emerged during the coronavirus pandemic as a way of keeping a healthy space between people in public places, when queuing to buy food for instance. It helps reduce contagion and delay the disease peak, so that health systems and their workers can cope with demand.

How should policymakers respond to the coronavirus crisis? On the employment and social front, what measures could they take to reduce exposure in the workplace, for instance, or address challenges related to pay and sick leave? What are the policy responses on tax, and to help households and small businesses to weather the storm?