Ireland Cancels All St. Patrick’s Day Parades Amid Virus Fears

With European stocks crashing into a bear market on Monday, closing the session on the worst declines since the 2008 financial crisis, pandemic fears across the continent are surging.

The plunge in Europe’s financial markets comes as investors reprice assets as a recession could be imminent for the continent. 

More than ten thousand confirmed cases are now in Europe, with deaths around 400. The bulk of the breakout is in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden.

At least 21 cases have been confirmed in Ireland, prompting authorities to cancel all Saint Patrick’s Day parades this month.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Monday that people should “limit the number of social gatherings they are involved in.” Varadkar is suggesting or at least hinting that mandatory quarantines could be next if cases increase.

Varadkar said contingency funds for the private sector set aside for Brexit are now being used to combat the fast-spreading virus. He added that all sick pay and illness benefits would be covered in a 2.4 billion Euro emergency package.

Richard Ramsey, the Ulster Bank Chief Economist, Northern Ireland, warned that the virus threatens to push the global economy into recession.

Ramsey said the economic situation in Ireland has deteriorated in the last month: 

“The accelerated spread of the coronavirus beyond China into Europe, the Middle-East and the Americas threatens a global recession.”

“China’s manufacturing PMI signaled its deepest contraction on record. This has severely disrupted global supply chains with the hospitality, tourism, and airline industries hit by a slump in demand.”

“Indeed, one leading UK regional airline has gone into administration. Economic conditions for all economies, including Northern Ireland, are expected to get worse before they get better.”

With the European economy grinding to a halt, public events are now being canceled, and the threat of a recession nearing, it’s only a matter of time before this is seen in America.