(Bloomberg) — The coronavirus outbreak spread further outside China, sparking fears of a global pandemic. Italy, now the virus’s epicenter on the continent, is studying measures to support the local economy.
Infections spiked again in South Korea and Iran, while Afghanistan, Bahrain and Kuwait all reported their first cases. That led to a renewed plunge in stocks globally and Europe’s debt risk jumped the most in two years.
The Chinese government said it would postpone annual legislative meetings. Earlier on Monday, China said it would ease the quarantine in Wuhan and then abruptly reversed hours later, saying the lockdown would remain in place.
Key Developments
Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait confirm first casesWuhan retracts statement on quarantine easing measureKorea to send 1,000 hospital beds to virus-hit city, expand screeningTotal China cases at 77,150, up by 409; death toll 2,592Worldwide death toll 2,624; total cases 79,440
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Europe Debt Risk Jumps Most Since March 2018 (4:47 p.m. HK)
The Markit iTraxx Europe Crossover index of credit-default swaps on high-yield companies rose 14.5bps to about 234bps, the most since March 2018.
China Bans Wildlife Trading and Consumption (4:47 p.m. HK)
China’s top legislature decides to fully ban wildlife trading and consumption, state-run China Central Television reported.
China Postpones Annual Legislative Meetings (4:23 p.m. HK)
Top legislature decided to delay the annual meetings, which were originally scheduled to start early March, state-run China Central Television said. New dates will be announced later. The legislative meeting is one of the most important political meetings held every year in Beijing, at which officials will discuss China’s major economic targets including for GDP growth, inflation and announce the country’s budget plan. It’s the first time in decades that the NPC has been postponed.
Italy Studies Tax Relief, Financial Support (4:23 p.m. HK)
Measures under study include suspension of mortgage, local tax payments, according to draft decree seen by Bloomberg. Financial support for hit companies may also be included.
Afghanistan Has First Case (3:38 p.m. HK)
The country has its first coronavirus infection, local TOLO news reported.
Wuhan to Keep Quarantine Measures (3:10 p.m. HK)
The local government in Wuhan said it would keep quarantine measures, walking back an earlier statement that said people who weren’t currently residents of the city would be allowed to leave from Monday for reasons including medical need. It said the earlier statement was ineffective.
The statement had said those leaving should be healthy, with no symptoms of fever, cough or asthma. It added that Wuhan residents and their vehicles were now allowed to enter the city after procedures including identity and health checks.
Hours after the statement was released, it was deleted off state media and the local government’s Weibo account and replaced with a statement saying top officials had not approved the easing.
China has in recent weeks locked down some 50 million people in more than a dozen cities to try and stop the virus, which originated in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province.
Kuwait, Bahrain Confirm First Cases (2:21 p.m. HK)
The virus continued its spread in the Middle East, with Kuwait reporting three cases and Bahrain one, according to their respective state-run news agencies. The infections in Kuwait were linked to people returning from the Muslim pilgrim site of Mashhad, in Iran.
Iran has eight deaths so far, giving it the highest number of coronavirus cases in the region. Other neighboring countries that have reported cases of the virus are the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Egypt and Israel.
Austria Eases Halt on Trains from Italy (2:20 p.m. HK)
Austria lifted the temporary ban on train traffic from Italy via the Brenner pass overnight. The two suspect cases on board the Venice-Munich train that had triggered the halt were tested negative for the coronavirus, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said on public radio Oe1.
Italy earlier confirmed a third death from the virus, as Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte said he was confident the country can limit the contagion. La Scala opera house is among the public buildings that suspended performances as a precaution. Venice also canceled all public events for a week, including the remaining days of its flagship Carnival celebration, and Milan adopted similar measures that will likely affect the rest of its Fashion Week.
Another Chinese Province Lowers Emergency Level (11:33 a.m. HK)
State-run CCTV said Guangdong — which has the most confirmed infections after Hubei — has become the latest Chinese province to lower its coronavirus emergency response level from its highest.
Gansu, Liaoning, Guizhou, Shanxi and Yunnan also have, the state-run People’s Daily reported earlier, citing local governments. Shanxi’s was lowered to its second-highest, and the other four to the third-highest levels, the newspaper said.
South Korea Widens Virus Screening (11:05 a.m. HK)
With the country at the highest alert level in nearly a decade, South Korea will expand coronavirus screening to all residents of the city of Daegu who show symptoms of the infection, and ship 1,000 hospital beds to the region, a health ministry official said at a briefing.
The additional beds are being expedited as health officials said they had identified 37,000 people in the city with symptoms of the virus. The moves came a day after President Moon Jae-in raised the alert level in South Korea to its highest.
By elevating the alert level, the government can restrict air travel, allocate additional resources to public and private hospitals and impose stricter measures on foreigners entering the country. South Korea on Sunday postponed the resumption of schools, which were scheduled to reopen next Monday after a winter break and restricted military personnel from leaving their base or facility.
When the last alert level was raised to “red” in 2009, the number of H1N1 cases in South Korea doubled to almost 9,000 in a week’s time, with about 40 deaths attributed to the influenza during the same period.
China Releases New Case Figures, Late (11 a.m. HK)
The country’s death toll rose by 150 to 2,592 on Sunday, the National Health Commission said in a statement on its website. The total number of cases rose to 77,150, it said, months after the pathogen first emerged in Hubei province, where the bulk of the virus’ impact has been felt.
Hubei reported an additional 398 cases and 149 more deaths, according to the NHC. That brings the confirmed number of cases in the province to 64,287, and its death toll to 2,495. More than 24,700 patients have been discharged from hospitals since the outbreak began, the commissions said.
China was delayed in releasing its daily virus data, with numbers out of Hubei typically arriving between 6 and 7:30 a.m. local time. The newly appointed provincial party secretary there, former Shanghai mayor Ying Yong, on Friday ordered Hubei to not remove confirmed cases from its virus tallies.
The province’s methodology shifts over the past few weeks have raised questions over the reliability of the data, with a change on Feb. 13 adding almost 15,000 new cases to the list. The numbers were also revised on Friday to include cases in prisons that were omitted earlier.
Earlier last week, China advised Hubei to report cases only as “confirmed” or “suspected.” The province has been grappling with overcrowded hospitals and stretched medical resources.
Hong Kong Travel Agency Halts Tours to Seoul (10:52 a.m. HK)
HNA’s Hong Kong-based Hong Thai Travel Services halted group tours to Seoul departing before March 15 in order to ensure the health and safety of customers and staff amid the outbreak, the travel agency said in a post on its Facebook page. It will impact 570 travelers from around 30 tour groups, who will be eligible for exchanges and refunds.
Five Chinese Provinces Lower Emergency Levels (9:30 a.m. HK)
Gansu, Liaoning, Guizhou, Shanxi and Yunnan provinces lowered their coronavirus emergency response levels, which had previously been at the highest level, according to the state-run People’s Daily, which cited local governments.
Shanxi’s was lowered to its second-highest, and the other four to the third-highest levels, the newspaper said.
–With assistance from Jason Gale, Dominic Lau, Shinhye Kang, Cindy Wang, Peter Pae, Claire Che, Lulu Shen, Boris Groendahl and Bhuma Shrivastava.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Karen Leigh in Hong Kong at [email protected];Ian Fisher in New York at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rachel Chang at [email protected], Karen Leigh, Emma O’Brien
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