WHO's Tedros: Economic impact of coronavirus could be more severe if restrictions are lifted too soon

"If countries rush to lift restrictions too soon, the economic impact of coronavirus could be even more severe and prolonged," World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday.

During the daily briefing, Tedros called on all countries to remove financial barriers to care in the pandemic and asked them to consider making cash transfers to most vulnerable households. 

Market reaction

Wall Street's main indexes extend slide on Friday. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were both down around 2% while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.9%.