|
 Asian stocks and currencies fell as the death toll rose and more
cases were reported with fears growing that the hit to China's
economy will ripple around the world in coming months.
India became the latest country to report a case - a student of
Wuhan University - while anger and fear brought protests in South
Korea and threats of strikes Hong Kong.
"Markets will remain highly volatile as long as they feel that they
only have an incomplete picture of what is going on, and what is
going to happen next," said Agathe Demarais, global forecasting
director at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
In a sign of alarm over possible damage, Bank of Japan Deputy
Governor Masayoshi Amamiya said China's huge presence in the world
economy must be taken into account in gauging the impact the
outbreak could have on global growth.
Alphabet Inc's Google and Sweden's IKEA joined other major firms in
closing operations in China.
Concern is also growing that thousands of Chinese factory workers on
Lunar New Year holidays may struggle to get back to work next week,
due to extensive travel restrictions imposed to stop the spread of
the virus.
South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said it had extended the
holiday closure for some Chinese production facilities.
China's National Health Commission said the total number of deaths
from the coronavirus in the country climbed to 170 by late
Wednesday, and the number of those infected rose to 7,711.
Almost all the deaths have been in the central province of Hubei,
home to about 60 million people and now under virtual lockdown. The
virus emerged last month in a live wild animal market in the
provincial capital of Wuhan.
The World Health Organization's Emergency Committee is due to
reconvene on Thursday to decide whether the virus constitutes a
global emergency.
Infections have been reported in at least 16 other countries, with
105 confirmed cases, but no deaths have occurred outside China.
Cases of human-to-human transmission outside China are of particular
concern to the WHO, but it is too early to determine how lethal the
virus is, as there are likely to be many cases of milder infections
going undetected.
It has an incubation time of between one and 14 days and there are
signs it may be able to spread before any symptoms show.
Chinese National Health Commission Minister Ma Xiaowei said this
week the virus was infectious during incubation, unlike Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), another coronavirus that emerged from
China and killed about 800 people in 2002 and 2003.
(Graphic: Tracking the novel coronavirus - https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7
)
ISOLATION PLANS
Countries getting citizens out of China have to decide what to do
with them as fears of infection grow.
[to top of second column] |
Australia, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand and Indonesia will
quarantine evacuees for at least two weeks, while the United States
and Japan plan shorter periods of voluntary isolation.
Australia defended a decision to put evacuees on Christmas Island,
2,600 km (1,600 miles) off its coast.
An Indian official said bringing citizens home was not the best
option because of the risk of infection but pressure from people
there, most of them students, and their families, had forced the
government to put an aircraft on standby.
In South Korea, protesters who want facilities earmarked as
quarantine centers moved away from residential areas threw eggs and
insults at a minister trying to mollify them.
President Moon Jae-in has urged people not to give in to fear as the
country prepared to evacuate the first of about 700 citizens from
Wuhan.
"The weapons that will protect us from the new coronavirus are not
fear and aversion, but trust and cooperation," he said.
Up to four planned South Korean evacuation flights to Wuhan are
expected to begin later on Thursday.
Singapore said all the 92 citizens it is bringing home on Thursday,
with accompanying foreign ministry staff, will be taken either to
hospital or quarantined for 14 days.
Nearly 200 Americans, mostly diplomats and families, airlifted from
Wuhan on Wednesday, will stay isolated at a U.S. military base in
California for at least 72 hours, officials said.
Three Japanese people, from 206 evacuated on Wednesday, were found
to be infected, and two of them had not shown symptoms, the health
ministry said.
A second Japanese flight landed in Tokyo on Thursday with nine
people showing symptoms of fever or coughing, broadcaster NHK said.
In China, a government economist said first-quarter growth could
fall by one point to 5% or lower.
Some airlines have suspended flights to China, including British
Airways, Lufthansa, Air Canada and American Airlines.
Streets in many Chinese cities are largely deserted and tourist
attractions are shut. Starbucks coffee shops require temperature
checks and masks.
(Graphic: The coronavirus outbreak - https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH/0100B59Y39P/index.html
)
(Reporting by Pei Li and Muyu Xu in Beijing, Samuel Shen and David
Stanway in Shanghai, Josh Smith, Sangmi Cha and Joyce Lee in Seoul,
Chang-Ran Kim in Tokyo and Se Young Lee; Writing by Robert Birsel;
Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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