China Vows to Support Market, U.S. Limits Flights: Virus Update

Bloomberg News – February 2, 2020, 6:53 AM GMT+8 Updated on February 3, 2020, 5:08 AM GMT+8

China’s central bank will inject more than $21 billion of liquidity in seeking to avert a potential sell-off from the coronavirus outbreak, and the U.S. is ready to redirect flights with passengers from China.

A jump in fatalities and a surge in infections stoked fears of contagion.

Airlines in Asia, Europe and the Middle East stopped service to the mainland. A city 700 kilometers from the epicenter of the outbreak has quarantined 9 million residents.

Bloomberg is tracking the outbreak here.

Key Developments:

• China’s central bank will pump 150 billion yuan ($21.7 billion) into markets on Monday to prevent a sell-off.
• Stock futures were set to slump; the offshore yen was steady.
• A Wuhan man who traveled to the Philippines is the first known person to die outside China.
• China recorded 45 deaths and 2,590 cases for Feb. 1. Total infections rose to 14,380 in the country, with 304 deaths.
• More countries have blocked arrivals from China.
• The U.S. is studying the economic impact of the outbreak.
  

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Asia Stocks Set to Decline (4 p.m. NY)

Traders braced for mainland Chinese markets to reopen on Monday, with stocks across the Asia-Pacific region set for further declines as the coronavirus outbreak showed no signs of slowing.

Futures signaled declines in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Australia, after the S&P 500 Index fell Friday. Investors are assessing the intervention by China’s central bank with more than $21 billion of liquidity to support markets and its economy.

The offshore yuan was steady early Monday after weakening last week through 7 per dollar. The Aussie and yen were little changed.

Trump on Virus: U.S. ‘Shut It Down’ (4 p.m. NY)

President Donald Trump said the U.S. has offered China help with the outbreak, but that steps have been taken to prevent the coronavirus from entering the country.

“We pretty much shut it down coming in from China,” he said on Fox TV’s Super Bowl pregame broadcast. “We’ve offered China help, but we can’t have thousands of people coming in who may have this problem, the coronavirus. So we’re gonna see what happens, but we did shut it down, yes.”

Bangkok, Hong Kong Most at Risk (3:45 p.m. NY)

Bangkok and Hong Kong are most at-risk from the spread of coronavirus based on air travelers expected to arrive from affected cities in China, population mapping experts at the University of Southampton concluded. Taipei ranked third.

Sydney is 12th, New York 16th and London 19th among 30 major cities, the researchers said. Thailand and Japan are the most at-risk countries, followed by the U.S. (6th), Australia (10th) and U.K. (17th).

The research is based 2013-15 data on typical patterns of movement by people in China during the long Lunar New Year celebrations, including the public holiday that was extended a week ago.

Fights to U.S. Get Redirected (2:30 pm. NY)

U.S. flights carrying citizens who visited China will be redirected to one of seven international airports to be screened for possible coronavirus symptoms, part of new restrictions that take effect Sunday to stem the outbreak.

Flights will only land in Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, the Department of Homeland Security said. Once on the ground, passengers will be subject to enhanced health screening.

The department said “all passenger flights to the United States carrying individuals who have recently traveled” to China are subject to the restrictions, which were outlined Friday at the White House.

Visitors to Hubei Province, the populous region where the outbreak began, may be quarantined for as long as 14 days, the agency said.

“We realize this could provide added stress and prolong travel times for some individuals,” DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said. “However, public health and security experts agree these measures are necessary to contain the virus and protect the American people.”

If a traveler was in China, but outside Hubei Province, is re-routed and shows no symptoms after screening, they will be re-booked to their destination and asked to self-quarantine at home, DHS said.

U.S. Offer Unanswered by China (1:30 p.m. NY)

The U.S. offered top public health experts to help China with the coronavirus outbreak, but so far Beijing hasn’t responded, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said Sunday.

“This is a worldwide concern — we want to help our Chinese colleagues if we can,” O’Brien said on CBS, noting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health are world-class organizations. “We’ve made the offer and we’ll see if they accept.”

So far, Chinese health officials are providing information and the U.S. is “taking that for what it’s worth, but at the same time we’re monitoring ourselves,” he said on “Face the Nation.”

Uber Suspends Mexico Accounts (1:15 p.m. NY)

Uber Technologies Inc. suspended 240 accounts in Mexico to contain the spread of coronavirus after the users rode with two drivers who came into contact with a possible infected patient, the company said on its Mexican Twitter account. To date, no confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in Mexico.

Mexico City’s Health Ministry confirmed a driver picked up a passenger from Los Angeles infected with the coronavirus, based on information from U.S authorities. The ministry said of the suspected cases tied to the passenger, none have developed symptoms in 10 days since contact.

France Gets Second Flight (12:05 p.m. NY)

An evacuation flight from Wuhan landed Sunday at France’s Istres military airbase where about 100 French passengers will be quarantined in a firefighters’ compound, government officials said. The first evacuation flight to France landed on Friday.

Officials said that when the flight left Wuhan, none of the passengers had symptoms of coronavirus. They include French, Belgians, Dutch, Danes, Czechs, Slovaks and some citizens of African countries, the Associated Press reported.

France’s foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged citizens not to travel to China.

G-7 Leaders Mull Coordination (11 a.m. NY)

Leaders of the Group of Seven nations are in talks to coordinate their response to the coronavirus outbreak, Germany Health Minister Jens Spahn said Sunday, according to Handelsblatt.

Spahn said he had spoken with a U.S. health official, by phone, and they had decided on the need for a telephone conference of G-7 health ministers. Spahn said: “There is no point in one country taking action alone, especially not in Europe.”

WHO Takes on Virus Rumors (10:33 am NY)

The World Health Organization highlighted “myths and rumors” tied to the outbreak in its daily situation report, saying that it’s making available public health information and advice, including “myth-busters,” on Twitter and other social media channels along with its website.

Researchers and journalists have documented an expanding number of cases of misinformation about the virus, ranging from racist explanations for the disease’s origin to false claims about miracle cures.

Coastal Chinese City Quarantined (7:55 a.m. NY)

Wenzhou, an eastern port of 9 million people, became the first city outside central Hubei province to impose quarantine measures due to the coronavirus outbreak. The city, some 700 kilometers from the epidemic’s origin in Wuhan, is in Zhejiang province, which has about 600 confirmed cases of the virus, the highest number outside Hubei. The two cities are known for their business ties.

Families will be allowed to send one person out of the house every two days to shop for necessities, city authorities said. Residents are advised to leave their homes only for medical treatment or related reasons.