New Zealand’s government said today it would spend billions of dollars supporting hard-hit companies as it tries to shore up an economy headed for recession because of the new coronavirus that orginated in China and has caused a global pandemic.

The stimulus package is equivalent to 4 percent of GDP. A large chunk of the new spending will go to businesses that have lost more than 30 percent of their income as a result of the downturn. Other money will go toward health costs, income support, and the airline industry.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson said a recession in New Zealand is now almost certain and would likely be more severe than the downturn after the 2008 global financial crisis.

The government currently has a net debt level much lower than many other countries that gives it room to borrow.

New Zealand has so far been largely spared from the disease itself, with only eight confirmed cases of the coronavirus. But many parts of the economy have already been hard it, especially the tourism industry, the nation’s single largest earner of foreign income.

The government is also requiring nearly every new arrival to quarantine themselves for two weeks, effectively halting the flow of tourists.-AP