The economic damage inflicted on Israel by the
coronavirus outbreak is likely to take a serious bite out of its gross domestic product and could bring its growth rate in 2020 to a near-standstill, Finance Ministry officials said last week.
The ministry's Chief Economist Shira Greenberg estimates that at best, the steps declared to fight the outbreak will see gross domestic product lose some 1.6%, or NIS 25 billion ($7 billion), and at worst the GDP will lop 3%, or NIS 45 billion.
According to financial daily
Globes, as the Finance Ministry's forecast for 2020 was a 3% growth in GDP, should the worst scenario manifest, Israel will see zero economic growth this year.