CDC Readies for Pandemic; Long Vaccine Timeline: Virus Update
Bloomberg is tracking the outbreak here.
(Bloomberg) -- China’s death toll from the coronavirus reached 361, with confirmed infections in the country topping 17,000 as the epidemic continued to spread.
As China returns from the Lunar New Year holiday, investors are bracing for the reopening of mainland markets on Monday. China’s central bank plans to avert a potential sell-off by injecting more than $21 billion of liquidity into markets.
Airlines in Asia, Europe and the Middle East stopped service to the mainland. The U.S. began limiting the entry of travelers from China, a process that could disrupt flight plans. The Philippines reported the first virus death outside of China, while a ninth infection was confirmed in the U.S.
Bloomberg is tracking the outbreak here.
Key Developments:
- LATEST: China deaths at 361, with confirmed cases in the country at 17,205.
- China’s central bank to pump 150 billion yuan into markets to prevent a sell-off.
- China oil demand said to have plunged 20%.
- A Wuhan man who traveled to the Philippines is the first known person to die outside China.
China Virus Cases Jump Above 17,000 (8:12 a.m. HK)
China’s death toll increased by 57 to reach 361 as of Feb. 2, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health. Total confirmed infections climbed to 17,205, with the addition of 2,829 cases in the past 24 hours. There are 2,296 severe cases, the ministry said.
U.S. Adds Airports for Virus Screening (8:01 a.m. HK)
The U.S. expanded to 11 the number of airports accepting flights carrying citizens who visited China. The airports will conduct enhanced screening for possible coronavirus symptoms, as part of new restrictions that took effect Sunday to stem the outbreak.
The Transportation Security Administration said airports in Dallas, Detroit, Newark and Washington will accept flights starting Monday. Previously, flights with passengers who visited China were being sent only to Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle.
Ninth U.S. Infection Reported (7:54 a.m. HK)
Santa Clara’s public health department reported its second coronavirus patient, bringing confirmed cases in the U.S. to nine. The woman had traveled to Wuhan and visited the U.S. on Jan. 23. Family members are isolated and being cared for by the department, it said in a statement.
It’s the second case in the county, which is just south of San Francisco. A man tested positive for the virus last week. The health department said the two cases are not related.
Hubei Deaths, Infections Jump (6:15 a.m. HK)
Hubei Province, at the center of the coronavirus epidemic, reported a jump in deaths and new infections on Feb. 2, showing the outbreak isn’t slowing down.
Another 56 deaths were reported, pushing the total to 350, according to a daily update from the Health Commission of Hubei Province.. Infections reached to 2,103 -- a jump from 1,921 a day earlier -- and now total of 11,177, officials said.
China’s Steps May Halt Sell Off (4:45 p.m. NY)
The $22 billion injection into China’s markets won’t be enough to prevent stocks and the currency from falling, but it may ease a global sell-off sparked by the spreading coronavirus, analysts said.
The People’s Bank of China and other regulators are shoring up financial markets as they re-open following the long Lunar New Year holiday. The bank will use reverse repurchase agreements to supply liquidity, with the figure coming to 150 billion yuan ($21.7 billion) on a net basis, according to Bloomberg calculations.
“If this deluge doesn’t hold risk-off at bay, we are in for a colossal beat down,” said Stephen Innes, a Bangkok-based chief market strategist at Axicorp.
American to Reroute or Refund (4:45 p.m. NY)
American Airlines Inc. said it will ask overseas passengers headed to the U.S. whether they visited mainland China in the past 14 days, and if so they will be directed to a flight that will land at one of seven airports with enhanced health screening.
Foreign nationals who visited China “will be denied permission to travel,” the airline said, citing U.S. rules to control the spread of the coronavirus that take effect Sunday.
“American continues to work closely with U.S. authorities to comply with these new orders,” the airline said in a statement. Any affected customers will be rebooked or offered full refunds, American said.
Trump on Virus: U.S. ‘Shut It Down’ (4 p.m. NY)
President Donald Trump said the U.S. has offered China help with the outbreak, but that steps have been taken to prevent the coronavirus from entering the country.
“We pretty much shut it down coming in from China,” he said on Fox TV’s Super Bowl pregame broadcast. “We’ve offered China help, but we can’t have thousands of people coming in who may have this problem, the coronavirus. So we’re gonna see what happens, but we did shut it down, yes.”
Bangkok, Hong Kong Most at Risk (3:45 p.m. NY)
Bangkok and Hong Kong are most at-risk from the spread of coronavirus based on air travelers expected to arrive from affected cities in China, population mapping experts at the University of Southampton concluded. Taipei ranked third.
Sydney is 12th, New York 16th and London 19th among 30 major cities, the researchers said. Thailand and Japan are the most at-risk countries, followed by the U.S. (6th), Australia (10th) and U.K. (17th).
The research is based 2013-15 data on typical patterns of movement by people in China during the long Lunar New Year celebrations, including the public holiday that was extended a week ago.
U.S. Offer Unanswered by China (1:30 p.m. NY)
The U.S. offered top public health experts to help China with the coronavirus outbreak, but so far Beijing hasn’t responded, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said Sunday.
“This is a worldwide concern -- we want to help our Chinese colleagues if we can,” O’Brien said on CBS, noting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health are world-class organizations. “We’ve made the offer and we’ll see if they accept.”
So far, Chinese health officials are providing information and the U.S. is “taking that for what it’s worth, but at the same time we’re monitoring ourselves,” he said on “Face the Nation.”
WHO Takes on Virus Rumors (10:33 am NY)
The World Health Organization highlighted “myths and rumors” tied to the outbreak in its daily situation report, saying that it’s making available public health information and advice, including “myth-busters,” on Twitter and other social media channels along with its website.
Researchers and journalists have documented an expanding number of cases of misinformation about the virus, ranging from racist explanations for the disease’s origin to false claims about miracle cures.
G-7 Leaders Mull Coordination (11 a.m. NY)
Leaders of the Group of Seven nations are in talks to coordinate their response to the coronavirus outbreak, Germany Health Minister Jens Spahn said Sunday, according to Handelsblatt.
Spahn said he had spoken with a U.S. health official, by phone, and they had decided on the need for a telephone conference of G-7 health ministers. Spahn said: “There is no point in one country taking action alone, especially not in Europe.”
Coastal Chinese City Quarantined (7:55 a.m. NY)
Wenzhou, an eastern port of 9 million people, became the first city outside central Hubei province to impose quarantine measures due to the coronavirus outbreak. The city, some 700 kilometers from the epidemic’s origin in Wuhan, is in Zhejiang province, which has about 600 confirmed cases of the virus, the highest number outside Hubei. The two cities are known for their business ties.
Families will be allowed to send one person out of the house every two days to shop for necessities, city authorities said. Residents are advised to leave their homes only for medical treatment or related reasons.
White House Studies Virus Impact (6:23 a.m. NY)
White House economic advisers are studying the potential impact of the epidemic of the coronavirus on the U.S. economy, the Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The White House National Economic Council and the Council of Economic Advisers are conducting a preliminary assessment of the potential short-term and long-term effects of the outbreak, the newspaper said.
One area that may feel the impact will be the international education industry. Australian Education Minister Dan Tehan estimated the global impact on the market could reach A$8 billion ($5.4 billion), the Sydney Morning Herald reported. About 200,000 Chinese students are due to study in Australia this year, the paper said, with many more attending schools and universities throughout the rest of the world.
--With assistance from Alfred Liu, Miaojung Lin, Debby Wu, Abeer Abu Omar, Sara Marley and Helene Fouquet.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Steve Geimann in Washington at sgeimann@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rachel Chang at wchang98@bloomberg.net, Jeff Sutherland
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With assistance from Bloomberg