European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council Member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in an interview that any economic effect caused by coronavirus vaccines won't be felt until the end of 2021. His comments came after the French central bank released its economic forecasts for the rest of 2020 and 2021.
The bank expects the French economy to contract by 9 percent this year, and to climb by 5 percent next year. The prediction worsened compared to previously released projections, as the bank expected the economy to contract by 8.7 percent this year and to expand by 7.4 percent next year.
France has managed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which so far has infected around 2,376,852 individuals and killed 57,911. This makes France the most affected country in Europe, and the fifth most affected in the world.
Meanwhile, the German economy minister commented that the coronavirus is currently out of control in Germany and foresees a volatile economic situation for 2021. However, he averred that there will not be a recession like the one in the spring of 2020.
“I hope we can prevent complete economic standstill in the second pandemic wave,” he said, adding that there is a need to help retailers.
So far, 1,338,483 coronavirus cases have been reported in Germany, as well as 22,406 deaths. The German government is currently planning to impose a national lockdown on Christmas as an attempt to stop the spread of the disease, meaning that all non-essential shops, services and schools will close until January 10, while Christmas gatherings will be restricted to only 5 people from two different households.
"The health system is under heavy strain and our aim has always been to avoid an overloading of the health care system," commented German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday.