UPDATED: 5 Disturbing Coronavirus Trends Driving Greater Concerns
Monday, February 03, 2020
The headline on the top article Sunday in the Washington Post is "Coronavirus infections predicted to skyrocket; first death outside China."
There is growing concern that the latest coronavirus is spreading at a disturbing rate.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTNow, the New York Times is reporting, "The Wuhan coronavirus spreading from China is now likely to become a pandemic that circles the globe, according to many of the world’s leading infectious disease experts.
The prospect is daunting. A pandemic — an ongoing epidemic on two or more continents — may well have global consequences, despite the extraordinary travel restrictions and quarantines now imposed by China and other countries, including the United States."
1. More New Cases Confirmed in U.S. on Sunday
There are now 11 confirmed case of the coronavirus, the CDC announced Sunday afternoon.
2. 75,000 Plus Infected
The Washington Post is reporting, “There are nearly 14,500 confirmed cases of coronavirus in China, including 10 on the self-governing island of Taiwan, with more than 300 dead. A new study says that as many as 75,815 people in Wuhan may have been infected."
3. First Death Outside of China
The first death outside of China was confirmed on Sunday in the Philippines. That country has closed its borders to outside visitors.
4. Economic Impact
The Wall Street Journal reports on Monday morning that the Chinese markets fell sharply during trading, "Chinese markets dropped sharply on the first day of trading after the extended Lunar New Year break, because of heightened anxiety over the fast-spreading coronavirus and uncertainty about its impact on the global economy.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 7.7% on Monday, shedding about 2.6 trillion yuan ($375 billion) in market value in its steepest one-day decline since August 2015. The Shenzhen Composite dropped 8.4%," reported WSJ.
"Beijing is poised to pump extra cash into China’s financial system on Monday, as part of a package of emergency measures to shield the economy from the effects of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. China’s central bank said on Sunday that it would provide Rmb1.2tn ($173bn) in additional liquidity to money markets, as trading was set to resume on the country’s stock exchanges following an extended closure," reports the Financial Times.
"The liquidity injection will be China’s largest single-day open market operation since 2004, according to Bloomberg, although the net addition of liquidity will be lower because more than Rmb1tn of short-term funds will mature on Monday. The People’s Bank of China also plans to lower lending rates to support companies, while financial regulators have delayed the introduction of new rules in order to avoid further tightening market liquidity."
5. First Case in New England
As GoLocal reported on Saturday, the first case of the 2019 novel coronavirus in Massachusetts was confirmed in a man returning from Wuhan, China who is in his 20s and lives in Boston.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) were notified by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the positive test results late Friday evening.
This is the eighth case of infection with 2019 novel coronavirus reported in the United States. The risk to the public from the 2019 novel coronavirus remains low in Massachusetts.
According to MA health officials, the man recently traveled to Wuhan, China, and sought medical care soon after his return to Massachusetts. He has been isolated since that time and will continue to remain isolated until cleared by public health officials. His few close contacts have been identified and are being monitored for any sign of symptoms.
Related Articles
- VIDEO: Brown Alpert Medical School Emergency Preparedness Expert on Coronavirus LIVE
- UPDATED: CDC Confirms Spread of Coronavirus in U.S., Impact Growing in China
- Is Coronavirus Coming to RI? 63 Potential Cases Being Monitored in U.S. Across 22 States
- CDC Advises U.S. Travelers to Avoid All Nonessential Travel to China Due to Coronavirus
- NEW: RI Dept. of Health Forms Coronavirus Task Force, Takes Preparedness Measures
- CDC Confirms 7th Case of Coronavirus, U.S. Implements Stricter Travel Controls
- World Health Organization Declares Coronavirus a Global Health Emergency
- BREAKING: Massachusetts Reports Its First Confirmed Case of Coronavirus
