Portuguese Prime minister, António Costa | José Goulão/AFP via Getty Images Portugal’s Costa calls for EU plan to tackle coronavirus ‘Call it the Marshall Plan or von der Leyen [plan], whatever you want,’ says PM.

Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa said the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic will be a “tsunami” and “there are no buoys that can save us from a tsunami.” He also called for an EU plan to fight what could be a complete devastation of the economy.

“Call it the Marshall Plan or von der Leyen [plan], whatever you want. But Europe must have a major economic recovery project,” Costa said in an interview with Broadcaster TVI Monday evening.

“It is not worth creating the illusion to people that we are going to go through this process without pain,” he said, adding that the effects would be felt over time.

On the country’s economic measures to fight the pandemic, the prime minister said protecting people's jobs would cost the government a billion euros per month. But he added it was necessary to avoid massive collective dismissals. “Businesses need to have the confidence to understand this is not the moment to fire people.”

Last week, Portugal declared a state of emergency, called for people to avoid all non-essential activity outdoors and shut most shops. The measures are set to run until April 2, when they will be reassessed.

As of Tuesday, the country had registered 2,362 coronavirus cases and 29 deaths.