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The data out of China comes as there have now been more than 150,000 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and more than 5,700 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. China has been the country most directly affected by the virus, and the bigger-than-expected dips seen by its economy underscores the difficulty of nailing down the exact extent of COVID-19’s effects.

How quickly the world’s biggest engine of economic growth starts humming again remains to be seen as well.

“Clearly, the data has been severely impacted by COVID-19, but the fact that it was so much weaker than consensus, highlights how difficult it is to gauge the path of the economy and how extensive the economic damage is,” stated a report from TD Securities. “While factory re-openings and easing restrictions on movement will help to lift these numbers going forward, it is likely to take several months to get back to normal.”

Even when factories ramp up production again, there are now questions about whether or not customers will be in a position to buy.

“The economic fallout of coronavirus is widening rapidly outside of China, with major consequences for the global economy in (the first half of 2020) and probably beyond,” stated an Oxford Economics report. “As such, external demand for Chinese goods and services will suffer from a serious drag in the months ahead.”

Canada continues to report new COVID-19 cases, and the hit to Canada’s economy from the outbreak is expected to be considerable. The federal government says it is readying a significant stimulus package to try to head off the economic damage of the virus and the Bank of Canada has already slashed interest rates twice because of its anticipated effects.