The IMF on Friday approved a $520 million loan for Jamaica to help the island nation deal with urgent needs raised by the COVID-19 pandemic, AFP reported.

The shock of coronavirus came after the country successfully graduated from an IMF-supported reform programme, but is now hit by the need for emergency spending amid a travel shutdown, the Washington-based crisis lender said.

“Despite the authorities’ best efforts, the pandemic is severely impacting the Jamaican economy, as a sudden stop in tourism and falling remittances are generating a sizable balance-of-payments need,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Tao Zhang said in a statement.

The money will come from the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), which allows nations those struggle to cope with the coronavirus crisis.

The government of the Caribbean nation has seen just over 500 cases and nine deaths from the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization.