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© Kdevin Dietsch/UPI
The International Monetary Fund in a revised outlook for 2020 said Tuesday it expects the global economy to shrink by 3 percent due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The IMF said such a sharp decline would be "much worse" than declines seen during the financial crisis a decade ago. For 2021, it forecasts a near 6 percent rebound helped along by government stimulus policies.

The revised outlook is titled "The Great Lockdown."

"The COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting high and rising human costs worldwide, and the necessary protection measures are severely impacting economic activity," the revised outlook states.

The IMF projects a 5.9 percent decline for the U.S. economy in 2020 followed by a 4.7 percent rebound next year. In January, the organization predicted 2 percent growth this year for the United States.

The most significant declines are projected for Italy (9.1 percent loss) and Spain (8 percent), where the disease has been particularly deadly.

The updated outlook assumes the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020 and containment efforts are gradually unwound.

"The risks for even more severe outcomes ... are substantial," the IMF said. "Effective policies are essential to forestall the possibility of worse outcomes, and the necessary measures to reduce contagion and protect lives are an important investment in long-term human and economic health."

To limit this year's decline to 3 percent, it added, policymakers must implement "substantial targeted fiscal, monetary, and financial market measures" to support "affected households and businesses domestically."