Advanced economies will shrink by about 35 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 from the prior three months, Goldman Sachs predicted in a note Monday.

The forecast contraction would be four times the record set in 2008 during the financial crisis, according to annualised figures from Goldman Sachs.

Though most job losses are expected to be temporary and unemployment benefits have been raised sharply, the separation of workers from their jobs is “dramatic,” the bank’s New-York based chief economist, Jan Hatzius, wrote in a note to clients.

While the number of new active coronavirus cases appears to be peaking across the globe, experts have urged caution in reopening economies.

The improvement is “probably a direct consequence of social distancing and the plunge in economic activity, and could reverse quickly if people just went back to work,” Hatzius wrote.

Hatzius complimented global policymakers’ responses to try to replace people’s incomes and to counter threats to the flow of credit but said efforts in Europe should be scaled up with a “whatever it takes” commitment.

To get through the severe crisis, “emerging economies will need a lot more help from the rich world,” he said, highlighting measures such as bilateral loans, financing from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank financing, and outright aid.

Reported global cases of the novel coronavirus have reached about 2 million, with more than 100,000 deaths.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund raised its emergency lending facilities after more than 90 countries requested aid from the IMF.

This article first appeared on Business Insider Australia, Australia’s most popular business news website. Read the original article. Follow Business Insider on Facebook or Twitter.

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