The fear about the rapid spread of the Covid-19, formerly known as the 2019-nCoV for new coronavirus, from Asia to Europe and the Middle East rocked the stock market yesterday. Leading to the drop of the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 1,000 points.
There are many concerns about the ability to contain the spread of Covid-19 and the disruption of global supply chains that might lead to a worldwide recession.
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Update 5:20 pm EST. increase of 2 cases. No increase in deaths
“We Can’t Stop This”: Japan Rolls Out New ‘Harm Reduction’ Policy Aimed At Limiting Virus-Related Deaths – ZeroHedge
Overwhelmed by a flurry of ‘unsolved’ cases (that is, cases with no obvious connection to the outbreak in China, or anywhere else), Japanese health authorities announced on Tuesday a new plan intended to focus the country’s precious medical resources on the most serious cases, while advising those with mild symptoms to treat themselves at home.
According to the Washington Post, the “basic premise” of the Japanese plan is that the virus can’t be stopped. That’s right: The Japanese are essentially acknowledging that the thesis proposed by Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch – ie that 70% of the world’s population might someday contract the virus – has at least some legitimacy.
5 European nations report virus cases with Italy link – AP
BERLIN (AP) — Five European countries announced cases of COVID-19 disease Tuesday in people who had recently traveled from the Lombardy region in Italy, where the virus emerged as a fast-growing cluster last week.
For Switzerland, Austria and Croatia it was the first confirmed cases in those countries. Germany and France, which had previously reported cases, confirmed new infections in people who had visited Italy.
U.S. health officials urge Americans to prepare for spread of coronavirus – Reuters
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday alerted Americans to begin to prepare for community spread of the new coronavirus after reports this week of new cases in several more countries.
The announcement signals a change in tone for the U.S. agency, which has largely been focused on efforts to stop the virus from entering the country and quarantining individuals traveling from China.
Stocks sink, bonds soar on fears virus will stunt economy – AP
Stocks slumped and bond prices soared for the second day in a row as fears spread that the widening virus outbreak will put the brakes on the global economy.
Investors plowed money into bonds, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury to a record low.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 878 points, or 3.1%, to 27,081. The S&P 500 fell 97 points, or 3%, to 3,128. The Nasdaq lost 255 points, or 2.8%, to 8,965.
Italy death toll jumps to 11 as coronavirus spreads through Europe and beyond – SCMP
- Total of 322 infections – the highest number in Europe – reported in Italy, while Switzerland, mainland Spain and Algeria report first cases
- European health ministers meet in Italy and pledge to keep borders open, even as infections rise
Algeria also confirmed its first case, an Italian man who arrived in the North African country on February 17, state television reported.
The death toll in Italy has risen to 11 and infections to 322, the largest number of people infected in Europe. All of those who have died so far in Italy were either elderly or had pre-existing medical conditions.
GOP and Dem senators voice concerns about US virus readiness – AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators of both political parties questioned Tuesday whether the White House’s request for $2.5 billion is enough to prepare the United States for a possible coronavirus outbreak, even as President Donald Trump said the virus is “very well under control” here.
“If you low-ball something like this, you’ll pay for it later,” Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told Trump’s top health official, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Shelby said if the virus keeps spreading, “it could be an existential threat to a lot of people in this country.”
Virus spreads to new countries as top official warns world ‘not ready’ – AFP
The coronavirus epidemic caused more death and disruption on Tuesday, spreading to new countries as a top health official warned the world was “simply not ready” to contain it.
At the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Bruce Aylward, who headed up an international expert mission to China, told reporters that other countries were “simply not ready” to rein in the outbreak.
Coronavirus monitoring systems strained to the extreme – CNA
To stop the new coronavirus outbreak from becoming a full-blown pandemic, it is essential to locate and isolate infected individuals so they do not contaminate others.
But so far, according to researchers from Imperial College London working with the World Health Organization, the world has failed at that.
“We estimated that about two thirds of COVID-19 cases exported from mainland China have remained undetected worldwide, potentially resulting in multiple chains of as yet undetected human-to-human transmission outside mainland China,” they said in a report Friday.
Japan sees first business failure linked to coronavirus – Japan Times
A hotel in Aichi Prefecture will file for bankruptcy due to a steep fall in customers amid the coronavirus outbreak, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said Tuesday.
It marks the first business failure in Japan linked to the COVID-19 outbreak, officials at the credit agency said.
‘Big’ Lie Of The Day: This Is Not A Pandemic – Mish Talk
One of These Doesn’t Fit
- 11 Cities in Italy are in lockdown
- Half of China has travel restrictions with 60 million in full lockdown.
- Coronavirus cases are growing exponentially in Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Iran.
- This is not a pandemic.
Here Are The 425 Billion Reasons Why WHO Refuses To Call The Covid-19 Outbreak A “Pandemic” – Zerohedge
The World Bank launched a $425 million 2017 catastrophe bond issue supporting its Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF). There are two tranches of PEF bonds outstanding, expected to mature in July, and this means investors of the bonds will collect massive profits if the bonds aren’t triggered or will lose everything if the Covid-19 outbreak continues to escalate.
It’s becoming increasingly apparent why the World Health Organization (WHO) has had a difficult time calling Covid-19 outbreak a “pandemic,” this is because it would cause both bonds to trigger, effectively wiping out bondholders.
Hotel worker, 56, is diagnosed with coronavirus after testing negative EIGHT TIMES in 17 days during quarantine – Daily Mail
- The 56-year-old from Sichuan Province went into isolation earlier this month
- Medical workers gave her eight tests, and none of them came back positive
- She was found to be infected yesterday after doctors performed further tests
- The incubation period is typically 14 days, but can be up to 24 days in rare cases
There are no current medical product shortages due to coronavirus, FDA says – CNN
While the US Food and Drug is not aware of any shortages of medical products being reported in the United States, it is monitoring some that could be at risk, FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn told reporters Tuesday.
“FDA is keenly aware that the outbreak will likely affect the medical product supply chain, including potential disruptions to suppliers [and] shortages of critical medical products in the US,” Hahn said.
Related: Covid-19 Can Cause Drugs and Medical Supply Shortages Worldwide
News update 2:05 pm EST. Cases increase by 67. Deaths by 4 from 12 noon.
The EU and Iranian clerics keeping the shrines open tells us that the epidemic will keep spreading.
European Union will keep borders open – CNN
The European Union will keep open borders despite the spread of coronavirus and pledged to take a “common position” in order to face the global challenge.
The ministers of health of Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland and San Marino met in Rome today. In a joint statement, they said that closing borders would be a “disproportionate and ineffective measure at this time.”
Quote from the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr Nancy Messonnier – The Guardian
She said public health officials could not say how severe the effect would be but people in the country should prepare themselves for significant disruption.
It’s not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country any more but a question of when this will happen.
We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad.
Italy sees 45% rise in virus cases, 10 deaths – AP
ROME (AP) — The number of people in Italy infected with the new virus from China increased 45% in the last day and the number of deaths grew to 10, civil protection officials said Tuesday.
Officials reported 322 confirmed cases of the virus, 100 more than a day earlier. They said that some of the new cases showed up in parts of Italy well outside the country’s two hard-hit northern regions, including three in Sicily, two in Tuscany and one in Liguria.
There are 57 cases of coronavirus in the US – CNN
The US has now confirmed 57 cases of coronavirus, US health officials said today.
This is an increase from the 53 reported yesterday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The newly confirmed cases are all passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.
Death toll in Italy rises again – The Guardian
A 76-year-old woman has died in the northern Italian city of Treviso, the Veneto region has said. She is the 11th victim in the country.
France confirms 2 new cases of coronavirus – CNN
Two more people in France have been diagnosed with coronavirus, according to Jérôme Salomon, general director of Health.
“We have two new cases tonight. Case No. 13 is the case of a young Chinese woman who returned from China on February 7 and was hospitalized in Paris. Case No. 14 is a French man returning from Lombardy; he’s being hospitalized in Auvergne Rhône Alpes,” Salomon said.
US and SKorea may cut back military moves due to coronavirus – AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and South Korea are considering curtailing joint military exercises due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus, officials said Monday.
After a meeting at the Pentagon to review a full range of issues, including a standoff over U.S. demands that Seoul pay a much bigger share of the cost of hosting American forces, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told reporters that coronavirus is a threat to their schedule of military exercises.
3 European nations report first virus cases with Italy link – AP
BERLIN (AP) — Switzerland, Austria and Croatia confirmed their first cases of COVID-19 disease Tuesday and said all those affected had recently traveled from the Lombardy region in Italy, where the virus emerged as a fast-growing cluster last week.
Soccer: Japan postpones games due to coronavirus concerns – Reuters
SAPPORO, Japan (Reuters) – Japan’s J.League says it has postponed seven Levian Cup soccer matches scheduled for Wednesday due to concern about the coronavirus outbreak and all domestic games through the first half of March.
12 pm EST update. An increase of 8 cases and no change in deaths in 3 hours.
Dow falls more than 300 points – CNN
Stocks have turned sharply negative today as coronavirus fears continue to mount.
The Dow has lost more than 300 points.
At least a dozen UK schools close or send pupils home – Guardian
The popularity of half-term skiing trips in Lombardy has seen at least 12 schools across the UK either close or send pupils home today, after updated advice from Public Health England widened the regions affected by Covid-19 to include northern Italy.
Coronavirus spreads to Switzerland – Guardian
Switzerland has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, the country’s federal office of public health has announced.
Chinese New Year gathering identified as missing link between COVID-19 church clusters – CNA
SINGAPORE: A married couple who went to a Chinese New Year gathering at Mei Hwan Drive is the missing link between the COVID-19 clusters at The Life Church and Missions church and Grace Assembly of God church, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Tuesday (Feb 25).
The couple, cases 83 and 91, went to the gathering on Jan 25. Case 91 was the only new case reported in Singapore on Tuesday.
WHO notes COVID-19 pandemic potential as 5 more Mideast nations affected – CIDRAP
Five more countries in the Middle East today reported their first COVID-19 cases, all linked to Iran travel, signaling an escalating situation in the region in the wake of Iran’s outbreak, as World Health Organization (WHO) officials today announced that, although the global situation isn’t yet a pandemic, the world should prepare for one.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Republicans raised concerns this week about the security of the U.S. drug supply chain in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in China, where a significant portion of the ingredients used to make prescription drugs is manufactured.
Related: Covid-19 Can Cause Drugs and Medical Supply Shortages Worldwide
Desperate to stop virus’ spread, countries limit travel – AP
Clusters of the illness continued to balloon outside mainland China, fueling apprehension across the globe that was reflected in sagging financial markets.
Korean Air said one of its crew members tested positive, but the airline didn’t disclose the flights the employee had worked on.
In Italy’s north, where more than 200 people were sickened, a dozen towns were sealed off and police wearing face masks patrolled.
Croatia, Hungary and Ireland advised against traveling to Italy’s affected area, one of a number of governmental moves seeking to limit further exposure. Bahrain suspended flights to Dubai while the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its highest travel alert on South Korea, advising citizens to avoid nonessential trips. Japan urged citizens to avoid unessential trips to South Korea’s hardest-hit areas.
Iran’s coronavirus death toll rises to 16 as worries deepen – Reuters
DUBAI (Reuters) – Two more people infected with the new coronavirus have died, taking the toll in Iran to 16, officials said on Tuesday, as Iranians worried that authorities could be underestimating the scale of outbreak.
Iran has the highest number of deaths from coronavirus outside China, where the virus emerged in late 2019. Among the infected was the deputy health minister, who tested positive for coronavirus, state media said.
Iran may have suppressed ‘vital details’ on coronavirus outbreak: Pompeo – Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said the United States was “deeply concerned” Iran may have covered up details about the spread of coronavirus, and he called on all nations to “tell the truth.”
9 am EST update. An additional 9 cases in one hour worldwide.
FTSE 100 hits four-month low as stock market sell-off continues – The Guardian
The blue-chip index is now down 55 points at 7100, an 0.8% drop. That’s its lowest level since 4th October, adding to the 247 points lost yesterday.
Engineering firm Meggitt and chemicals group Croda are the top fallers, down 4.4% and 3.2% respectively, after they warned that the coronavirus will hurt their businesses this year (as reported earlier).
South Korea, Japan, and China are three of the world’s biggest economies. Italy is Europe’s third-biggest.
European stocks extend losses on fear of virus pandemic – AFP
European stock markets fell further on Tuesday but declines in midday trading were far less than during a major sell-off a day earlier.
World equities suffered dizzying declines Monday, sparked by fears that the COVID-19 outbreak could derail the global economy.
Japan urges firms to have staff work from home over coronavirus; soccer postponed – Reuters
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan urged businesses on Tuesday to have staff work from home to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and its top-flight soccer division announced it was postponing matches, just months before the country is due to host the Summer Olympics.
Life in the time of coronavirus – AFP
For eight days, an AFP team reported from the ground zero of the coronavirus epidemic sending shudders across the globe. Leo Ramirez, Hector Retamal and Sebastien Ricci filmed, photographed and wrote about the city of Wuhan in China, where the virus originated, as the metropolis of 11 million was shut off from the rest of the world.
Coronavirus further isolates Iran, strains South Korea, Italy – Reuters
DUBAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Iran’s coronavirus death toll rose to 16 on Tuesday, the most outside China, heightening its international isolation as dozens of worst-hit nations from South Korea to Italy accelerated emergency measures to curb the epidemic’s global spread.
You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus – The Atlantic Monthly
The Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch is exacting in his diction, even for an epidemiologist. Twice in our conversation he started to say something, then paused and said, “Actually, let me start again.” So it’s striking when one of the points he wanted to get exactly right was this: “I think the likely outcome is that it will ultimately not be containable.”
More virus deaths outside China raise pandemic fears – AFP
Fresh deaths and a surge in new coronavirus cases in Iran, Japan and South Korea on Tuesday fuelled fears of a pandemic, as the disease took root in some of the world’s poorest — and worst-equipped — countries.
Singapore is considered to be the gold standard in containing the Covid-19.
Singapore bans visitors who have traveled to virus-hit areas in South Korea – Reuters
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore said on Tuesday it would ban all visitors who had recently traveled to the South Korean city of Daegu and Cheongdo County, and may impose stricter travel restrictions for South Korea if the coronavirus spreads more broadly there.
The Arctic Doomsday vault has been around for years.
Arctic ‘doomsday vault’ stocks up on more food seeds – AFP
An Arctic “doomsday vault” is set Tuesday to receive 60,000 samples of seeds from around the world as the biggest global crop reserve stocks up for a global catastrophe.
The seeds are to be deposited in the vault inside a mountain near Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen Island in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the North Pole.
8 am update EST. Notice the increase of 39 cases in less than one hour. The number of deaths still the same.
Factbox: Countries evacuating nationals from coronavirus-hit areas – Reuters
(Reuters) – A growing number of countries around the world are evacuating or planning to evacuate diplomatic staff and citizens from areas hit by the new coronavirus.
Following are some countries’ evacuation plans, and how they aim to manage the health risk from those who are returning.
Click at the link for more.
‘Are you still alive?’ Virus fears grip South Korean city – AP
Fears of a soaring viral outbreak are gripping the South Korean city of Daegu and the surrounding area, with residents struggling as they try to stay away from a virus that has already sickened hundreds of people in the region, killing at least 10 of them.
“We call each other here and half-jokingly ask whether they are alive and tell each other not to wander around,” Choe Hee-suk, a 37-year-old office worker, said by phone.
China reports fewer COVID-19 cases outside epicentre Hubei – CNA
SHANGHAI: China reported another fall in the new coronavirus infections outside of its epicentre on Sunday (Feb 23), but world health officials warned it was too early to make predictions about the outbreak as new infections and fears of contagion increased elsewhere.
Britain advises travelers self isolate after north Italy trips – Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said on Tuesday that people who had visited northern Italy should self isolate if they had any flu-like symptoms after Europe’s worst outbreak of coronavirus so far flared up in the regions of Lombardy and Veneto.
China struggles to revive manufacturing amid virus outbreak – AP
BEIJING (AP) — Factories that make the world’s smartphones, toys and other goods are struggling to reopen after a virus outbreak idled China’s economy. But even with the ruling Communist Party promising help, companies and economists say it may be months before production is back to normal.
That may explain why…
Asian shares extend losses after Dow drops more than 1,000 – AP
Shares are mostly lower in Asia on Tuesday after Wall Street suffered its worst session in two years, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumping more than 1,000 points on fears that a viral outbreak that began in China will weaken the world economy.
and
World shares mostly lower after Dow drops more than 1,000 – AP
Shares opened lower in Europe on Tuesday after a mixed session in Asia, where Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index skidded more than 3% as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged fresh efforts to contain the outbreak of a new virus that has spread from China to nearly three dozen countries.
But a growing number of companies are forecasting their profits will suffer from disruptions caused by efforts to contain the virus, which has infected more than 80,000 people worldwide and killed nearly 2,700, most of them in China.
Croatia latest European country to confirm coronavirus case – The Guardian
Croatia’s prime minister, Andrej Plenković, has confirmed its first case of coronavirus infection, in a patient who is hospitalised in the capital.
The health minister, Vili Beroš, said the patient had stayed in Milan from 19 to 21 February.
Turkish plane from Iran diverted to Ankara amid coronavirus worry – Reuters
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A Turkish Airlines flight from Iran to Istanbul was diverted to Ankara on Tuesday at the request of Turkey’s Health Ministry, an aviation source said, and TV broadcasters said passengers were suspected of coronavirus infection.
Seventeen passengers, including 12 from Iran’s Qom region, were suspected to have the virus, broadcaster CNN Turk reported, adding the passengers would be quarantined in Ankara.
Know more about Qom from Wikipedia
The city is the largest center for Shiʿa scholarship in the world, and is a significant destination of pilgrimage, with around twenty million pilgrims visiting the city every year, the majority being Iranians but also other Shi’a Muslims from all around the world.
Iran’s deputy health minister tests positive for coronavirus – reports The Guardian
According to the semi-official news agency ILNA, the spokesman for Iran’s health ministry confirmed in an interview with state television that Deputy Minister Iraj Harirchi has been infected and is now under quarantine.
7 am Update 2/25/2020
Factbox: Latest on coronavirus spreading in China and beyond – Reuters
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will seek $2.5 billion from Congress to fight the coronavirus epidemic and U.S. and South Korean militaries are considering scaling back joint training as the virus spreads in Europe and the Middle East.
– Countries around the world are stepping up efforts to prevent a pandemic of the flu-like virus that has now infected more than 80,000 people, 10 times more cases than the SARS coronavirus. More at the link.
New virus has infected over 80,000 people globally – AP
A viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 80,000 people globally. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.
Iraq reports four new cases of coronavirus – health ministry – Reuters
(Reuters) – Iraq has detected four new cases of coronavirus in Kirkuk province, the health ministry said on Tuesday, bringing the total cases in the country to five and marking the first instance of Iraq patients.
The patients are an Iraqi family who had been on a trip to Iran, the ministry said in a statement.
Canary Islands hotel on lockdown after coronavirus case – Reuters
MADRID (Reuters) – One hotel in the Canary Islands was put on lockdown on Tuesday after a coronavirus case was identified there the day before, a guest at the hotel told Reuters.
Spanish media including Diario de Avisos and El Pais newspaper also reported the lockdown, saying there were around 1,000 guests at the hotel.
Italian national becomes third case of coronavirus in Spain – Straits Times
Spanish media including El Mundo reported the man was an Italian doctor on holiday in Spain.
He is the third person to test positive for the virus in Spain after a British man in Mallorca on Feb 9 and a German man on the Canary Island of La Gomera on Feb 1.
Fearing coronavirus, Hong Kong’s ‘coffin home’ dwellers stay indoors – Reuters
HONG KONG (Reuters) – To escape the confines of his Hong Kong “coffin home”, or two square meters (21.5 square feet) of living space, Simon Wong usually spends his days in the park playing mahjong with friends, only returning at night to sleep.
But since the Chinese-ruled city reported its first patient with coronavirus last month, Wong has been stuck indoors in the home he has to climb a ladder to get into and which is just large enough to hold a single mattress.
Coronavirus: China pledges to hit 2020 targets despite economic impact of epidemic – SCMP
- China’s leaders say the coronavirus outbreak is a ‘temporary’ setback and the country’s social development targets for this year can be achieved
- Beijing is intent on doubling the size of the economy in the decade to 2020, but supply chain disruptions and factory shutdowns threaten to throw growth of course
Italy reports coronavirus case in Sicily, first south of Rome – Reuters
PALERMO/ROME (Reuters) – Italian authorities on Tuesday reported a woman had tested positive for coronavirus in Sicily, the first case south of Rome, as the country battles to prevent the outbreak spreading from its origin in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto.
The number of cases in Italy, the country in Europe worst affected, rose to more than 260 overnight from 229 on Monday, with 34 new cases reported in Lombardy and six new ones in Veneto. The number of deaths was unchanged at seven.
Iraq bans entry of travellers from seven countries, including Singapore – Straits Times
BAGHDAD (REUTERS) – Iraq indefinitely extended an entry ban on travellers from China and Iran and instituted similar bans on travellers from Thailand, South Korean, Japan, Italy and Singapore, the health ministry said on Tuesday (Feb 25).
South Korea to launch mass coronavirus testing, U.S. pledges $1 billion for vaccine – Reuters
SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) – South Korea aims to test more than 200,000 members of a church at the center of a surge in coronavirus cases, as countries stepped up efforts to stop a pandemic of the virus that emerged in China and is now spreading in Europe and the Middle East.
Several countries shut Iran border, halt flights due to COVID-19 – CNA
ISTANBUL: Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan have extended entry bans or closed their borders with Iran in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
All highways and railways were closed as of 5pm local time and flights from Iran suspended, while flights from Turkey to Iran are still allowed.
Iran says coronavirus death toll reaches 16, 95 infected – Reuters
DUBAI (Reuters) – Two more people infected with the new coronavirus have died, taking the toll in Iran to 16, a Health Ministry official told state TV on Tuesday.
Iran has the highest number of deaths from coronavirus outside China, where the virus emerged late last year. The Health Ministry urged Iranians to stay at home.
‘Recipe for a massive viral outbreak’: Iran emerges as a worldwide coronavirus threat – The Straits Times
NEW YORK (NYTIMES) – Religious pilgrims, migrant workers, businessmen, soldiers and clerics all flow constantly across Iran’s frontiers, often crossing into countries with few border controls, weak and ineffective governments and fragile health systems.
Now, as it struggles to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Iran is also emerging as the second focal point after China for the spread of the disease. Cases in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates – even one in Canada – have all been traced to Iran, sending tremors of fear rippling out from Kabul to Beirut.
Coronavirus fears grip Middle East as Iran denies cover-up – Guardian
Fears are growing across the Middle East that coronavirus has infiltrated a main pilgrimage route, which could lead the deadly pathogen to vulnerable refugee populations, causing perhaps unprecedented public health crises across the region.
Concern is centred on the Iranian shrine city of Qom, which is thought to be a hub of the disease and the likely source of its spread elsewhere in the country and in neighbouring states, where infected travellers have been diagnosed in recent days.
Know more about Qom from Wikipedia
The city is the largest center for Shiʿa scholarship in the world, and is a significant destination of pilgrimage, with around twenty million pilgrims visiting the city every year, the majority being Iranians but also other Shi’a Muslims from all around the world.
Iran confirms two more dead of new coronavirus: Local media – The Straits Times
DUBAI (REUTERS) – Two more Iranians infected with the new coronavirus have died in Iran, local media website Eghtesaonline reported on Tuesday (Feb 25), citing the the head of the Medical Science University of Saveh, raising the death toll in the Islamic Republic to 14.
“Tests showed they had the new coronavirus,” the official said, according to Eghtesaonline. Iran’s Health Ministry said on Monday that 61 people have been infected with the coronavirus in Iran.
Virus concern grips Washington as Trump dispenses optimism – CNN
(CNN)Growing fears that the coronavirus outbreak could turn into a pandemic and reach the United States are challenging President Donald Trump’s sunny assurances that everything is under control.
“I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away,” Trump said Tuesday at the start of a CEO roundtable in New Delhi. Trump acknowledged Monday’s Wall Street plunge, but noted futures were higher ahead of Tuesday’s market open.
The President ticked though administration efforts to contain the virus, claiming the US had “essentially closed the borders.”
Asian markets mixed after virus-fuelled global bloodbath – AFP
Asian markets were mixed Tuesday as bargain-buying after the previous day’s bloodbath tempered fears that the new coronavirus will develop into a pandemic and hammer the global economy.
News at the weekend of a spike in the number of COVID-19 deaths and infections far beyond China sparked a flood to safety on trading floors across the world, with the Dow on Wall Street suffering its worst day in two years.
The Nikkei ended more than three percent lower, while Sydney and Wellington each shed more than one percent and Shanghai dipped 0.6 percent. There were also losses in Bangkok and Jakarta.
However, Hong Kong added 0.3 percent, while Seoul jumped 1.2 percent, having plunged almost four percent Monday in reaction to a spurt of infections in South Korea at the weekend. Singapore added 0.6 percent, Taipei rose 0.1 percent and Mumbai put on 0.3 percent. More at the link.
What does it mean if coronavirus is declared a pandemic? – Guardian
“We don’t wish to induce panic food or petrol stockpiling, when for 95% of the population, this will be a mild cold,” he said.
But a pandemic would mean travel bans would no longer be useful or make sense and would alert health authorities that they need to prepare for the next phase.“This includes preparing our hospitals for a large influx of patients, stockpiling any antivirals, and advising the public that when the time comes ,they will need to think about things like staying at home if ill, social distancing, avoiding large gatherings etc,” McMillan said.
Shocking State Media Report Exposes Widespread Undercounting Of Coronavirus Deaths In Wuhan’s Nursing Homes – ZeroHedge
The reporters claim that a pattern of discrepancies that has emerged in the official statistics surrounding cases tied to nursing homes and other facilities specializing in elder care. The elderly are, of course, one of several vulnerable populations singled out by the WHO and the governor of Hubei for special care.
One nursing home situated just blocks from the seafood market where the outbreak allegedly began reported 19 deaths recently all of which are believed to have been caused by the virus. However, a doctor told the paper that only one death was counted in the official statistics.
How Britain became a nation of stockpilers: ‘It just feels like something is going to give’ – Guardian
James Blake, the owner of Europe’s largest emergency food supplier, is one of the few people to be doing good business out of coronavirus. Are you planning to hole up indoors while a pandemic, natural disaster or terrorist attack runs its course? Blake’s company – Emergency Food Storage UK – has got you covered, but it’s not cheap: £385 will buy you one month of food, as long as you like freeze-dried macaroni cheese and chicken-fried rice.
Airline, cruise stocks pummeled on fear of spreading virus – AP
The stocks of American Airlines and several cruise lines were among the worst performers in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index Monday, as investors fret that the new coronavirus could take hold outside China and further disrupt international travel.
Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. tumbled about 9%. American Airlines Group Inc. shed 8.5%, and Delta Air Lines Inc. and online travel agency Expedia Group Inc. fell more than 6%.
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