New Delhi: As the world continues to remain troubled by the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank Group has pledged to make available an initial package of up to USD 12 billion to assist the countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak. The deadly contagion has reached 60 countries of the world.

In a statement, the bank on Tuesday (local time) announced an emergency fast track package that includes low-cost loans, grants, and technical assistance.

"We are working to provide a fast, flexible response based on developing country needs in dealing with the spread of COVID-19," said World Bank Group President David Malpass.

"This includes emergency financing, policy advice, and technical assistance, building on the World Bank Group's existing instruments and expertise to help countries respond to the crisis," he added.

The statement further stated that the financing is designed to help member countries take effective action to respond to and, where possible, lessen the tragic impacts posed by coronavirus.

The organisation asserted that it would prioritise the poorest and most at-risk countries in distributing the aid to counter the effects of the virus.

IMF , World Bank to hold spring meetings in "virtual format"

Citing growing concerns about the fast-spreading coronavirus, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have also decided to adopt a "virtual format" for their Spring Meetings instead of convening in person in Washington.

On Tuesday, Malpass and Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of IMF, released a joint statement in which they stated that their goal was to serve their membership effectively while ensuring the health and safety of participants and staff.

"With this adapted format, we are confident that our member countries will be able to effectively engage on pressing global economic issues at these Spring Meetings," the statement said.

The leaders added that the institutions would leverage IT-related and virtual connection capabilities to hold essential policy consultations while continuing to share IMF and World Bank analyses.

This years' Spring Meetings are scheduled for April 17-19. The meetings usually bring in more than 10,000 government officials, entrepreneurs, members of the civil society and journalists from the world to the institution's headquarters in Washington downtown.

Coronavirus cases outside of China surge to 10,000: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has registered over 1,700 new cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection outside of China while the total number of infected people have exceeded 10,000.

The WHO said, in its coronavirus disease situation report, that the number of confirmed cases outside of China had risen by 1,792 to 10,566 in 72 countries.

It said the death toll outside of China had gone up by 37 to 166.

According to the WHO, the number of confirmed cases in China stands at 80,304, the death count has reached 2,946.

The overall number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has increased by 1,922 to 90,870