• Germany’s strict no-debt (black zero) policy is at stake due to COVID-19 outbreak. • Germany has high infection rates but few deaths. There are 17742 cases with the highest number of new cases i.e. 2422 on 20th March. Merkel expects that up to 70% of Germans might become infected with COVID-19. • French police handed out over 4,000 fines on the first day of a nationwide lockdown. • The European Central Bank launched a €750 billion ($820 billion) emergency bond purchase scheme. The Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programe should push down borrowing costs and help counter the economic slowdown in the bloc caused by the virus.