Officials at the IMF and the World Bank (WB) say they will adopt a "virtual format" for their annual spring meetings, which normally take place in Washington in April.

The change will also affect exchanges between G20 finance ministers, who usually meet on the sidelines of the conferences.

After Africa confirmed more than 10 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the Africa CEO Forum scheduled to take place next week at Côte d'Ivoire was canceled.            

Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva on Wednesday warned that the spread of the disease has already pushed global growth this year below last year’s 2.9%.

Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Wednesday that the coronavirus outbreak will lower Swedish growth this year by around 0.3%. She warned that if the epidemic continues or spreads more widely, the impact will be more devastating.