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 Asian shares fell on Wednesday as the U.S. warning to Americans to
prepare for a likely coronavirus pandemic jolted Wall Street again
and pushed yields on safe-haven Treasuries to record lows.
Stock markets globally have wiped out $3.33 trillion of value in the
past four trading sessions, as measured by the MSCI all-country
index <.MIWD00000PUS> that comprises stocks across 23 developed and
26 emerging markets.
The disease is believed to have originated in a market selling
wildlife in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year and has
infected about 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700, the vast
majority in China.
Adding to a growing sense that a rapid spread of the virus in more
places is inevitable, a top World Health Organization (WHO) official
urged that preparations be made now.
In the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention also urged Americans to prepare, saying that while the
immediate risk there was low, the global situation suggested a
pandemic was likely.
"It's not a question of if. It's a question of when and how many
people will be infected," the CDC's principal deputy director, Anne
Schuchat, said on Tuesday.
The United States has reported 57 cases of the virus.
Dr Bruce Aylward, head of a joint WHO-Chinese mission on the
outbreak, told reporters on his return to Geneva that preparations
should not wait.
"Think the virus is going to show up tomorrow. If you don't think
that way, you're not going to be ready," he said.
"This a rapidly escalating epidemic in different places that we have
got to tackle super fast to prevent a pandemic."
Aylward said China's "extraordinary mobilization" showed how an
aggressive public health policy could curb its spread.
OLYMPIC WORRIES
The WHO says the outbreak peaked in China around Feb. 2, after
authorities isolated Hubei province and imposed other containment
measures.
China's National Health Commission reported another 406 new
infections on Wednesday, down from 508 a day earlier and bringing
the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 78,064. Its
death toll rose by 52 to 2,715.
South Korea, which with 1,261 cases has the most outside China,
reported 284 new ones including a U.S. soldier, as authorities
readied an ambitious plan to test more than 200,000 members of a
church at the center of the outbreak.
Of the new cases, 134 were from Daegu city, where the virus is
believed to have been passed among members of the Shincheonji Church
of Jesus, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The U.S. military said a 23-year-old soldier based in Camp Carroll,
about 20 km (12.4 miles) from Daegu, had been infected and was in
self-quarantine at home.
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In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for sports and cultural events to be
scrapped or curtailed for two weeks to stem the virus as concern mounted for the
2020 Tokyo Olympics even though officials have repeatedly denied the Games will
be affected.
Japan has nearly 170 virus cases and 691 linked to a cruise ship that was
quarantined this month. Six people have died in Japan, including four from the
ship.
There have been nearly 50 deaths outside China, including 11 in Italy and 16 in
Iran, the most outside China, according to a Reuters tally.
Iran's deputy health minister - seen mopping his brow at a televised news
conference - was among the infected.
Cases linked to Iran have been reported across the region.
Kuwait said it had two new coronavirus cases, some among people returning from
Iran, took its tally to 18, while Bahrain said its infections had risen to 26
after three new ones on a flight from Iran.
CHINESE STOCKS GAIN
In Europe, Italy has become a front line in the global outbreak with 322 cases.
Italians or people who had recently visited the country, have tested positive in
Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Romania, Spain and Switzerland.
Two hotels, one in Austria and one in Spain's Canary Islands, were also locked
down after cases emerged linked to Italy. Spain also reported its first three
cases on the mainland.
China's containment efforts have hobbled the world's second-biggest economy,
with growth set to fall further from a three-decade low of 6.1% last year.
But a growing number of Chinese regions are downgrading their emergency response
level after assessing that risks have receded and authorities are urging a
return to work.
The effects of the outbreak are reverberating through the region with most of
its major economies expected to either slow or shrink this quarter, Reuters
polls found.
Forecasts from economists collected by Reuters on Feb. 19-25 showed that
Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand are all expected to put
in their worst performance in years in this quarter.
(Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-MAP/0100B59S39E/index.html)
(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Washington, Diane Bartz in Chicago, Gavin
Jones, Francesca Piscioneri and Crispian Balmer in Rome, Ryan Woo, Yilei Sun and
Lusha Zhang in Beijing; Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith in Seoul; Paresi Hafezi in
Dubai; Stephanie Nebehay and Michael Shields in Geneva; Writing by Michael
Perry; Editing by Stephen Coates and Simon Cameron-Moore)
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