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Saudi Pilgrimages Halted; Korea Adds 505 Cases: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia halted religious visits that draw millions to cities including Mecca and Medina, while Japan asked for all schools to shut from March 2. More new cases were reported outside China than within the country for the first time, highlighting the spread of the epidemic.Britain added two cases, Switzerland three and South Korea reported 505 new infections. The U.S. identified the first coronavirus case that doesn’t have ties to a known outbreak, as President Donald Trump assured Americans they face little risk.China plans to suspend retail government bond sales and Malaysia unveiled a stimulus package valued at about $4.8 billion. Equities fell and bond yields reached record lows.Key DevelopmentsGlobal deaths surpass 2,800, with more than 82,300 casesChina death toll at 2,744, up 29; cases climb to 78,497, up 433First U.S. case of unknown origin; Pence in charge of responseSouth Korea cases rise, U.S. urges travelers to reconsider tripsAsk Health Experts Questions on Coronavirus in TOPLiveClick VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus and here for maps and charts. For analysis of the impact from Bloomberg Economics, click here.China to Extend School Closure, Premier Li Says: CCTV (6:37 a.m. NY)Premier Li Keqiang said China will extend its closure of schools because of the epidemic, state broadcaster China Central Television reported.Greece Confirms Two More Coronavirus Cases; Closes a School (6:04 a.m. NY)Greece said that the child of the 38-year-old woman hospitalized on Wednesday, who tested positive for coronavirus, also has been infected. Authorities closed the child’s school for 14 days as a precaution. A third person in an unrelated case, who had recently returned from Italy, also tested positive.Emirates to Limit Access to Its Biggest Mideast Market (6:17 p.m. HK)Emirates, which gets 60% of its Middle East revenue from Saudi Arabia, will stop flying tourists from more than 20 countries to the kingdom to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.SGX Gives Issuers an Extra Two Months to Hold AGMs (5:51 p.m. HK)Singapore Exchange said it will allow issuers to hold their annual general meetings up to June 30 to approve financial results. The waiver was granted because shareholders may be concerned about attending large-group meetings.Japan’s Abe Tells All Schools to Shut (5:39 p.m.)Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for all elementary, middle and high schools in the country to close from Monday though to the end of the spring holidays as part of measures to combat the spread of coronavirus.Malaysia Unveils Stimulus Package (5:20 p.m. HK)Malaysia announced a package of measures valued at 20 billion ringgit ($4.8 billion) to boost an economy battered by the coronavirus outbreak. The government will support businesses affected by the virus, particularly in the tourism industry.China Plans to Suspend Retail Govt Bond Sales (5:16 p.m. HK)China plans to suspend selling government bonds to retail customers via bank branches next month, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified for discussing a private matter. The halt is partly due to concerns over public gatherings during the...

Saudi Pilgrimages Halted; Korea Adds 505 Cases: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia halted religious visits that draw millions to cities including Mecca and Medina, while Japan asked for all schools to shut from March 2. More new cases were reported outside China than within the country for the first time, highlighting the spread of the epidemic.

Britain added two cases, Switzerland three and South Korea reported 505 new infections. The U.S. identified the first coronavirus case that doesn’t have ties to a known outbreak, as President Donald Trump assured Americans they face little risk.

China plans to suspend retail government bond sales and Malaysia unveiled a stimulus package valued at about $4.8 billion. Equities fell and bond yields reached record lows.

Key Developments

Global deaths surpass 2,800, with more than 82,300 casesChina death toll at 2,744, up 29; cases climb to 78,497, up 433First U.S. case of unknown origin; Pence in charge of responseSouth Korea cases rise, U.S. urges travelers to reconsider trips

Ask Health Experts Questions on Coronavirus in TOPLive

Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus and here for maps and charts. For analysis of the impact from Bloomberg Economics, click here.

China to Extend School Closure, Premier Li Says: CCTV (6:37 a.m. NY)

Premier Li Keqiang said China will extend its closure of schools because of the epidemic, state broadcaster China Central Television reported.

Greece Confirms Two More Coronavirus Cases; Closes a School (6:04 a.m. NY)

Greece said that the child of the 38-year-old woman hospitalized on Wednesday, who tested positive for coronavirus, also has been infected. Authorities closed the child’s school for 14 days as a precaution. A third person in an unrelated case, who had recently returned from Italy, also tested positive.

Emirates to Limit Access to Its Biggest Mideast Market (6:17 p.m. HK)

Emirates, which gets 60% of its Middle East revenue from Saudi Arabia, will stop flying tourists from more than 20 countries to the kingdom to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

SGX Gives Issuers an Extra Two Months to Hold AGMs (5:51 p.m. HK)

Singapore Exchange said it will allow issuers to hold their annual general meetings up to June 30 to approve financial results. The waiver was granted because shareholders may be concerned about attending large-group meetings.

Japan’s Abe Tells All Schools to Shut (5:39 p.m.)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for all elementary, middle and high schools in the country to close from Monday though to the end of the spring holidays as part of measures to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Malaysia Unveils Stimulus Package (5:20 p.m. HK)

Malaysia announced a package of measures valued at 20 billion ringgit ($4.8 billion) to boost an economy battered by the coronavirus outbreak. The government will support businesses affected by the virus, particularly in the tourism industry.

China Plans to Suspend Retail Govt Bond Sales (5:16 p.m. HK)

China plans to suspend selling government bonds to retail customers via bank branches next month, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified for discussing a private matter. The halt is partly due to concerns over public gatherings during the outbreak.

AB InBev, Aston Martin Warn (5:01 p.m. HK)

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the world’s largest brewer, slumped after forecasting the steepest decline in quarterly profit in at least a decade due to the coronavirus. Aston Martin said revenue will continue to slide as it marks time until an anticipated boost from its new DBX SUV and braces for the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Chinese demand.

Earlier, Microsoft became joined Apple and HP in cutting outlook, while Standard Chartered said it may take longer to hit a key target.

South Korea Reports 505 More Cases, 1 Death (4:52 p.m. HK)

South Korea’s health ministry announced an additional 171 cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed as of 4pm local time on top of the 334 additional cases reported earlier in the day. The country’s daily tally of 505 today exceeded that of China’s 433 from yesterday.

Israel Asks Citizens to Reconsider Travel (3:51 p.m. HK)

The Israeli government has asked citizens to reconsider plans to travel abroad, as the coronavirus spreads to more countries. The ministry added Italy to the list of destinations from which Israelis are required to enter into quarantine upon return. It’s the first non-Asian country on the list.

Middle East Cases Rise (3:44 p.m. HK)

Kuwait reported a jump in coronavirus cases to 43, from 26 previously, with all the cases linked to Iran, the hub of the outbreak in the Middle East. Iran has reported 158 cases, including 19 deaths. The United Arab Emirates, which has 13 cases and hasn’t given an update since Saturday, said it’s setting up a medical facility to quarantine patients.

WHO Says Italy Errors May Have Inflated Cases: Corriere (3 p.m. HK)

Testing of people without any virus symptoms was wrong and didn’t follow World Health Organization guidelines, said Walter Ricciardi, a member of WHO’s board, according to a report by Corriere della Sera.

The result was “general confusion and alarm” as the tests may have inflated positive results, Ricciardi said in an interview with the newspaper. The testing strategy in the Veneto region ignored scientific evidence, he said.

China Expert Sees Epidemic Contained by End of April (12:02 p.m. HK)

Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory disease expert advising the Chinese government, is confident the coronavirus outbreak will be largely contained by the end of April, Nanfang Daily reported, citing a briefing on Thursday.

Zhong, who led the research into a treatment for SARS, earlier expected the virus outbreak to peak by mid- to late February.

BOK Puts Micro Response to Virus Before Rate Move (11:34 a.m. HK)

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol provided loan support for coronavirus-hit companies rather than a wider-reaching interest rate move on Thursday, saying it was still too early to gauge the overall economic impact of the outbreak.

The central bank left interest rates unchanged, holding off from a repetition of the rate cut response it took during a virus outbreak in 2015. The decision contrasts with the more aggressive response taken by Asian central banks from Indonesia to Thailand. The bank also downgraded its growth forecast for the year, and Lee said it was also possible the economy would contract in the first quarter as it took a hit from the outbreak.

Trump Says CDC Budget Cuts Won’t Hurt Virus Response (9:45 a.m. HK)

President Donald Trump said his proposed cuts to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the agency leading the government’s response to the coronavirus — wouldn’t affect preparations for an outbreak.

“We can get money and we can increase staff. We know all the good people. Some of the people we’ve cut they haven’t been used in many many years,” Trump said during a news conference at the White House. “I don’t like having thousands of people around when you don’t need them. When you need them you can get them back very quickly. We can build up very very quickly. We already have done that.”

China Reports 433 New Coronavirus Cases (9:30 a.m. HK)

China reported 433 additional coronavirus cases, bringing the total case count to 78,497, according to a statement from the National Health Commission.

China’s death toll increase by 29 to 2,744, as Hubei province, where the outbreak originated, reported 26 additional fatalities. Hubei had 409 new confirmed cases. Discharged patients in mainland China rose by 2,750 to 32,495.

The number of cases in China is declining as those elsewhere are climbing. The World Health Organization said Wednesday that more coronavirus cases were reported in countries other than China for the first time since the initial patient was identified on Dec. 8.

U.S. Raises Travel Alert on South Korea (9:22 a.m. HK)

The U.S government is asking Americans to “reconsider” travel to South Korea as the coronavirus spreads in that country. The State Department issued a Level 3 advisory — 4 being the most severe.

South Korea has confirmed 171 more cases, bringing the total number of cases to 1,766. Korean authorities thought they had largely contained the illness until they learned that a woman who had been infected attended two services of a secretive religious sect with at least 1,000 other people. Within 24 hours, the nation’s number of confirmed cases started multiplying exponentially.

U.S. Identifies First Case of Unknown Origin (8:52 a.m. HK)

U.S. health authorities said they’ve identified a first case of coronavirus that doesn’t have ties to a known outbreak, a worrying signal that the virus is already circulating despite reassurances from the Trump administration that it’s been contained.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the patient doesn’t appear to have traveled to China or been exposed to another known case of the coronavirus. Health authorities have been increasingly concerned about what’s known as community spread, where the virus begins circulating freely among people outside of quarantines or known contacts with other patients.

The CDC said the case was picked up by doctors in California, and that the patient may have been infected by a traveler who brought the disease in. It didn’t give more information on the patient’s status. The new case brings the total of known infections in the U.S. to 15, not counting repatriated Americans.

Saudi Arabia Bans Religious Visits (8:27 a.m. HK)

Saudi Arabia temporarily halted religious visits that include stops in Mecca and Medina, which draw millions of people a year as the Islamic world’s holiest cities, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus into the country.

Tourism visa-holders from countries with reported coronavirus infections will also be denied entry, the Saudi embassy in Washington said in an emailed statement, without naming any countries. The steps are temporary and subject to continuous evaluation, according to the statement.

The government is acting to block the deadly virus as neighboring countries including Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates have flagged dozens of cases. No infections had been reported by Saudi Arabian authorities as of Wednesday.

–With assistance from John Harney, Jonathan Levin, Glen Carey, Mario Parker, Jordan Fabian, Sarah McGregor, Zaid Sabah, Karen Leigh, Dandan Li, Stephen Tan, Sam Kim, Miao Han, Lulu Shen, Ross Larsen and Alisa Odenheimer.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Adveith Nair in London at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at [email protected], Paul Sillitoe

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