Germany doing everything to shield economy from coronavirus impact - Altmaier

Germany is ready to help small- and medium-sized companies affected by the coronavirus to bridge sudden liquidity problems and avoid lay-offs through existing labour market instruments, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday.

"We're doing everything to ensure that this virus will not impact the German economy on a broad scale," Altmaier said. "We're prepared and determined to avoid a possible crisis and secure employment and domestic production."

Altmaier said that coalition parties were also eyeing additional measures to reduce the tax burden for companies and increase incentives to boost investment by the private sector.