Argentina's health officials confirmed the country's second Covid-19 case, a young man currently interned in a private hospital in Buenos Aires. The patient, a 23-year old staff member of a Buenos Aires elected councilor visited the north of Italy and was back on March first, but two days later had a peak of fever and other suspicious symptoms.
Brazil’s economy minister blamed the Real’s slide to an all-time low on the coronavirus outbreak and said the currency could weaken to as much as 5 per dollar if he “messes up.” Paulo Guedes said the Real is weakening largely due to the economic impact of the epidemic, rather than a change in the country’s risk perception.
An International Monetary Fund team currently in Argentina has held “productive” talks with local officials, a spokesman said on Thursday, though there was little detail on concrete progress about reaching a deal over the country’s debt crisis.
One of Britain's biggest airlines, Flybe, collapsed on Thursday with all its flights grounded, the company said, as the coronavirus epidemic takes a heavy toll on airlines around the world.
The spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus or COVID-19 has sent ripples of panic all across the globe. What was thought to be a localized threat in China has quickly grown into an epidemic that has spread into Italy, Iran and South Korea.
Latin American stocks and currencies weakened on Thursday, with Brazil's real slipping to yet another record low, as the rapid spread of the coronavirus sapped risk appetite and investors worried about the scale of the economic fallout.