Markets in Asia also took a hit, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunging by over 5 per cent.

The crisis has also dragged down the price of oil by around 30 per cent, after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed last week to agree to reduce their output to counterbalance the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The outbreak originated in China but has since spread to every continent except Antartica, prompting draconian quarantine measures in hard-hit regions such as northern Italy, the cancellation of flights and several international events, and fears that it could trigger a global recession.