COVID-19 variants threaten global recovery, G20 warns Toggle share menu Advertisement COVID-19 variants threaten global recovery, G20 warns FILE PHOTO: People walk without wearing masks as Italy lifts mandatory masks outdoors thanks to a decline in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and hospitalisations, in Rome, Italy, June 28, 2021. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane 10 Jul 2021 08:05PM (Updated: 11 Jul 2021 08:57AM) Share this content Bookmark VENICE: An upsurge in new coronavirus variants and poor access to vaccines in developing countries threaten the global economic recovery, finance ministers of the world's 20 largest economies warned on Saturday (Jul 10). The G20 gathering in the Italian city of Venice was the ministers' first face-to-face meeting since the start of the pandemic. Decisions include the endorsement of new rules aimed at stopping multinationals shifting profits to low-tax havens.