The U.S. government warned Americans not to travel to China as the death toll from a new coronavirus reached 213 on Friday and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday it was declaring the coronavirus outbreak that has killed 200 people in China a global emergency, as cases spread to at least 18 countries.
Brazil’s currency the Real hit a two-month low against the dollar on Thursday, slumping to within sight of its record low under a wave of global risk aversion on fears over the coronavirus outbreak and its diminishing yield appeal.
Brazil’s largest meatpackers JBS SA and BRF SA said that the coronavirus outbreak could help boost Chinese demand for their products, as it fans concerns about domestic food safety in China. However some also believe sales could be held back by aggressive demands for discounts from Chinese buyers.
By Gwynne Dyer – In an emergency, the good thing about a dictatorship is it can respond very fast. The bad thing is it won’t respond at all until the dictator-in-chief says it should. All the little dictators who flourish in this sort of system won’t risk their positions by passing bad news up the line until the risk of being blamed for delay outweighs the risk of being blamed for the emergency in the first place.
Cruise line operators have canceled cruises to China after the outbreak of the coronavirus in China. The new virus that first appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December has so far killed over 100 people and infected approximately 6,000 others.
President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China was sure of defeating a devil coronavirus that has killed at least 106 people, but the international alarm was rising as the outbreak spread across the world.
Twelve leading beer, wine and spirits companies have pledged to put clear age-restriction labels on their drinks and set tighter controls on access to their online content in a bid to reduce underage drinking.
The World Health Organization said on Monday that it remained unclear if the deadly virus is contagious during its incubation period before symptoms appear. It did not immediately confirm assertions made by Chinese authorities that people who are infected can spread the disease before they show any symptoms of fever or respiratory difficulties.
China said on Tuesday that 106 people had died from a new coronavirus that is spreading across the country, up from the previous toll of 81. The number of total confirmed cases in China rose to 4,515 as of Jan 27, the National Health Commission said in a statement, up from 2,835 reported a day earlier.