Category: Breaking News

New York (AFP) – Global stocks slumped again Friday to mark the largest weekly drop since the 2008 global financial crisis over fears the coronavirus could wreak havoc on the world economy. Crude oil prices tumbled as well and analysts said central banks, especially the US Federal Reserve, might have to shift into crisis-resolution mode with urgent interest rate cuts. Frankfurt headed the losses in Europe, shedding almost 3.9 percent as the market closed. Leading European stock markets have lost more than 10 percent in just one week, with London’s FTSE 100, which fell by 3.4 percent on Friday, dropping 11.3 percent. Wall Street also had another difficult day, with the Dow finishing down 1.4 percent at 25,409.36, which meant a drop of more than 12 percent for the week.

But US indices cut their losses after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell released a statement saying the US economy remains “strong” but vowing to “use our tools” to provide support if needed.

The markets in Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo all closed down 3.0 percent, while Jakarta shed more than four percent.

“The panic mode is full on,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

“The coronavirus outbreak has certainly hit businesses, and it might have a longer-than-expected negative impact on company earnings and global growth,” she added. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen continue to benefit from its status as a haven investment in times of economic uncertainty, making solid gains against the dollar. Yields on 10-year US Treasuries hit new all-time lows. Concern that global crude demand will crash meanwhile sent oil prices down again: in London, Brent crude fell 3.2 percent, while the US benchmark WTI crude dropped 4.9 percent. “Another day, another sell-off,” remarked analyst Stephen Brennock at energy consultancy PVM Associates. “Risk assets took a significant step lower… as market players continued to squirm with unease over the growing coronavirus crisis.” In addition to central banks, governments also faced pressure to provide support. French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the virus would be considered “a case of force majeure for companies,” meaning they would not be penalized if they failed to meet deadlines on public contracts. The virus has now proliferated worldwide, emerging in every continent except Antarctica, and prompting governments and businesses to curb travel and public gatherings. On Friday, Nigeria reported the first new coronavirus case in sub-Saharan Africa, as the World Health Organization warned against the “fatal mistake” of complacency. Iceland reported its first case too. The Geneva International Motor Show was the latest major event to be canceled after Switzerland banned large gatherings. The virus has killed more than 2,800 people and infected more than 84,000 since late December

Feb 28 (Reuters) – As a new coronavirus spreads quickly around the world, U.S. health officials say they are “aggressively” assessing how long it can survive on surfaces to better understand the risk of transmission. Based on what is known about similar coronaviruses, disease experts say the new outbreak of the virus, named COVID-19, is mainly spread from person to person through coughing or sneezing. Contact with fecal matter from an infected person may also transmit the virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it may be possible for a person to become infected by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or eyes. An analysis of 22 earlier studies of similar coronaviruses, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) published online this month in the Journal of Hospital Infection, concluded that human coronaviruses can remain infectious on inanimate surfaces for up to nine days at room temperature. However, they can quickly be rendered inactive using common disinfectants, and may also dissipate at higher temperatures, the authors wrote. It is not yet clear, however, whether the new coronavirus behaves in a similar way. “On copper and steel it’s pretty typical, it’s pretty much about two hours,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday, referring to how long the new coronavirus may be active on those types of materials. “But I will say on other surfaces – cardboard or plastic – it’s longer, and so we are looking at this.” The agency said there is likely a very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures. A CDC spokeswoman, in an emailed statement, said the agency is still looking into how contagious the virus can be when deposited on more common, everyday surfaces. The Food and Drug Administration this week said it has no evidence that COVID-19 has been transmitted from imported goods, but the situation remains “dynamic” and the agency said it will assess and update guidance as needed. “The important big take-home message is that this is probably a small proportion of the transmission of respiratory viruses,” said Dr. Timothy Brewer, professor of epidemiology and medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Out in the community, these viruses are probably not surviving for a long time on surfaces.” Brewer explained that such viruses tend to survive the longest in low-temperature, low-humidity environments, “that is why you see lots of respiratory viruses during the winter.”

The outbreak of coronavirus in Italy is getting worse, BBC correspondent Bethany Bell reports. The authorities say four children have been infected, the first such cases in this county. Twelve people have died – all of them either elderly or with underlying health problems. Several cases in other European countries have been reported among people who have recently been in northern Italy. On a visit to Rome, the EU’s health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said the situation was a cause for concern but not for panic. Schools, universities, museums, cinemas and theatres remain closed across much of the north. A number of tourists have cancelled their visits. There are fears the outbreak could send Italy’s economy in recession. Several European countries have announced their first coronavirus cases, all apparently linked to the growing outbreak in Italy. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland said the cases involved people who had been to Italy, as did Algeria in Africa. The first positive virus test has been recorded in Latin America – a Brazilian resident just returned from Italy. Italy has in recent days become Europe’s worst-affected country, with more than 300 cases and 11 deaths. But its neighbours have decided closing borders would be “disproportionate”. Health ministers from France, Germany, Italy and the EU Commission committed to keeping frontiers open at a meeting on Tuesday as new cases of the virus emerged throughout Europe and in central and southern Italy. Globally, more than 80,000 people in more than 40 countries have been infected. Nearly 2,800 have died, the vast majority in China’s Hubei province. Iran, where 26 people have died, has cancelled Friday prayers in Tehran. Saudi Arabia is stopping foreign pilgrims entering the country. It is not clear if the Hajj pilgrimage, which begins in July this year, will be affected New Zealand’s ban on foreign travellers from mainland China has been extended to 3 March. Australia is extending a ban on foreign visitors from mainland China Italy, where 14 people have died, has quarantined 11 towns Greece is cancelling all carnival activities.

The closure – thought to affect 13 million students – will continue until the school year ends in late March. World Health Organization head Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said the global outbreak had now reached a “decisive point” and had “pandemic potential”. For the second day running, more cases have been reported outside than inside China. Dr Tedros urged governments to act swiftly and aggressively to contain the virus. “This is not a time for fear. This is a time for taking action to prevent infection and save lives now,” he said. The closures are set to take effect on Monday and will last until the end of spring vacation – typically in early April. Mr Abe said the first weeks of March would be an “extremely critical period” for preventing virus transmission. “The government attaches the top priority to the health and safety of children,” he said. It follows China’s decision not to reopen schools on the mainland after the Spring Festival holiday and instead ask nearly 200 million students to follow classes online from their homes. Hong Kong is also keeping schools closed until April. Many parents in Japan are concerned about what they will do with their children. “My honest feeling – all schools on break? It’s important to protect children, but what happens if they have working parents?” one parent wrote on social media. Officials say child day care centres and after-school facilities can remain open. More than 200 people have so far been infected with the coronavirus in Japan.

One woman in her forties in Osaka is said to have tested positive for a second time after earlier recovering.

A tour guide who had come into contact with visitors from the Chinese city of Wuhan where the outbreak began, she first tested positive in late January and was discharged from hospital on 1 February, a statement said. Meanwhile, health officials in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong say some patients there who recovered and were discharged from hospital have again tested positive. The authorities in both countries say they will track former patients after they are discharged from hospital.

SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday the state is monitoring about 8,400 people for the coronavirus, a day after a Solano County patient was identified as the first coronavirus case in the U.S. from unknown origin. At a news conference with state health officials to update the state’s preparation, Newsom said the state also currently has a shortage of coronavirus testing kits and has worked with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update the testing protocols for the coronavirus. Initially, the Solano County patient wasn’t tested for the coronavirus because she did not present the risk factors such as travel to China or contact with infected patients.

Currently, California only has 200 testing kits for the coronavirus and Newsom said the number of available kits from the CDC will be “exponentially expanded” starting Thursday afternoon. “That is simply inadequate to do justice to the kind of testing we need,” said Newsom.

The 8,400 in California being monitored are returning travelers from China, according to the state health department. Those people have been urged to self-quarantine for 14 days and to limit their interactions with others. Newsom says there are 28 people in California who have tested positive for the virus. “We have 33 confirmed positive tests for the coronavirus,” said Newsom. “Five individuals have subsequently moved out of state.” The California Department of Public Health maintains the risk to the general population in California is low for the coronavirus, and that more than 80% of people infected with the virus have mild or no symptoms. The governor and health officials were cautious in revealing any information about the identity of the Solano County coronavirus patient, currently being treated at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, but were working to alert those who may have dealt with the person. “People who have been in contact with this individual absolutely have the right to know,” said Newsom. Solano County on Thursday declared a local emergency and the county’s health department said it was activating its operations center to bolster its efforts to identify, screen and follow up with people potentially exposed to the virus. Newsom reiterated that while people in Solano County should be concerned about the virus spreading there, he did not want to “overextend the anxiety that people naturally face.” “Look, everybody in this country is rightfully anxious about this moment, but I think they should know that we are meeting this moment with the kind of urgency that is necessary,” said Newsom. “This is something we are organizing around, something we’ve been organizing around for months. Nothing so far has surprised us. Nothing. What happened in Solano County did not surprise anybody. I think the only thing, respectfully, that surprised folks is that it didn’t happen sooner.” Newsom said people should continue as normal while observing the standard practices that prevent transmissions of colds and flu, such as washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth. “I think people should go on with their day-to-day lives with some common sense.”