Beijing may delay a high-profile political meeting for the first time in decades because of the coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 71,000 and killed 1,775 globally.
Countries stepped up evacuation efforts from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan as the total number of infections jumped to 454 after 99 new cases were identified Monday.
China and Hong Kong pledged extra fiscal stimulus, boosting markets.
Key developments
- China death toll 1,770, up 105; mainland cases rise to 70,548
- Hubei adds 1,933 new cases, up from 1,843 a day earlier
- Stocks rebound after China pledges to support economy
- Four missed chances for China to contain outbreak
- Virus fears grow as travellers on stricken ships return home
Cathay Pacific warns on results (3.45pm)
First-half results “will be significantly down” from the same period year ago as demand for flights slumped following the novel coronavirus outbreak, Cathay Pacific said.
US factories in China don’t have enough staff (2.57pm)
Most US factories in China’s manufacturing hub around Shanghai will be back at work this week, but the “severe” shortage of workers due to the coronavirus will hit production and global supply chains, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
While about 90% of the 109 US manufacturers in the Yangtze River delta expect to resume production this week, 78% of them said they don’t have sufficient staff to run at full speed, according to a survey by AmCham.
Tokyo marathon cancelled, Tokyo Shimbun says (2.56pm)
Organisers of the Tokyo Marathon will cancel Japan’s biggest running event for non-professional runners as the coronavirus outbreak pressures cities and institutions to scrap large events, the Tokyo Shimbun reported, citing an unidentified source.
Some 38,000 runners have registered for the race scheduled on March 1, according to the newspaper. A spokesperson at the Tokyo Marathon Foundation said nothing has been decided, and that it is “considering a wide range of options.”
Beijing Auto Show delayed (2.48pm)
China’s annual auto show, scheduled to be held in Beijing in April, will be pushed back because of the coronavirus outbreak. The new dates will be announced later, the organiser said in a statement on Monday.
China considers delaying parliament meeting (2.16pm)
China is considering delaying its most high-profile annual political meeting for the first time in decades, as the government attempts to contain an outbreak of a deadly new strain of coronavirus.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress will meet Feb 24 to consider a delay of the annual meeting of the full parliament planned to convene March 5, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday.
US Says 14 cruise evacuees have coronavirus (2.07pm)
The US State Department said it received notice that 14 of the 300 US citizens that were repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
A pair of aircraft chartered by the US State Department took off early Monday to bring home Americans from the ship. The 14 people were tested two to three days earlier, and have now been moved to a special containment area on the evacuation aircraft.
Australia will also use a chartered flight to evacuate about 200 citizens and permanent residents who have been stranded on the ship in Japan. More than 350 people on the Carnival Corp cruise have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Macau casinos may reopen this week: cable TV (11.50am)
The Macau government may allow casino operators to re-open their doors after a temporary suspension ends on Wednesday, Hong Kong-based Cable TV reported, citing Sands China Ltd President Wilfred Wong.
Macau, which has reported 10 confirmed coronavirus cases, hasn’t found new infections for 12 straight days, according to a statement released by local health authorities late Sunday.
Macau closed casinos for a 15-day period that began Feb 5, in the longest shutdown ever for the world’s biggest gambling hub. MGM Resorts International said it’s losing $1.5 million a day in Macau, while Wynn Resorts Ltd said it is losing about $2.5 million a day.
Wong said he expects few customers when casinos first re-open, and believes it will take two-to-three months before business can return to normal.
Taiwan scours taxi driver’s data to trace virus path (11.44am)
Health authorities in Taiwan are scouring travel histories, phone records and security camera footage in an effort to map out everyone who came into contact with a taxi driver who became Taiwan’s first confirmed death from the coronavirus.
The victim, a man in his 60s from central Taiwan who died Saturday, had not recently travelled overseas and had no recorded contact with any of the 19 other people diagnosed with the coronavirus in Taiwan, according to a statement from Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control.
Singapore, Thailand cut growth outlooks (11.32am)
Singapore and Thailand downgraded their forecasts for economic growth this year as the coronavirus outbreak hits tourism and trade.
Singapore’s Ministry of Trade & Industry projected growth in a range of -0.5% to 1.5% in 2020, compared with a previous estimate of 0.5% to 2.5%. The city state, which has more than 70 cases of virus infections, is losing as many as 20,000 tourists a day amid travel curbs.
Growth in Thailand is seen in a range of 1.5%-2.5% this year, down from a previous projection of 2.7%-3.7%, the National Economic and Social Development Council said.
Bridgewater, Dalio donate $10 million for virus fight (11.27am)
Billionaire Ray Dalio’s family charity and his hedge fund Bridgewater Associates LP are donating $10 million to help support China’s coronavirus relief efforts. The money will go to Peking University First Hospital, Union Hospital for Clinical Care and three medical teams led by academics in Wuhan, the world’s largest hedge fund said in an emailed statement Monday.
Nintendo is likely to suffer global switch shortages (11.21am)
Nintendo Co is likely to struggle to supply sufficient Switch consoles to its US and European markets as soon as April due to a production bottleneck caused by the coronavirus outbreak, according to people with knowledge of the company’s supply chain.
Abe’s support slides amid doubts over virus handling (10.35am)
Voter support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fell in three polls, with two showing public dissatisfaction over his government’s handling of the new coronavirus outbreak as new domestic cases continue to be discovered daily.
Unlike other places that have issued blanket bans on visitors from China due to the virus, Abe’s government has adopted a softer approach with Japan’s biggest trading partner by limiting the restrictions to foreigners who have been in virus epicenters, such as Wuhan. Critics have called for a bar on all visitors from China.
Japan has found more than 400 cases of the virus, 355 of them among the passengers and crew from a cruise ship held in quarantine in the port of Yokohama.
Chinese airlines see impact from coronavirus (10.32am)
China’s three largest airlines reported declines in January passenger traffic because of the coronavirus outbreak, with the shortfalls likely to deepen this month as the epidemic continues to disrupt travel for millions of people.
Airlines began suspending flights from about Jan 23 after the government began locking down Wuhan and other Chinese cities.
China stocks rebound from sell-off (9.13am)
China’s stock benchmark recouped all its losses from a record $720 billion sell-off earlier this month, a sign that investor confidence is improving after policy makers acted to ease the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
China’s government has pumped cash into the financial system, trimmed money-market rates and offered targeted tax cuts. Beijing will also allow local governments to sell another 848 billion yuan ($121 billion) of debt before March, as authorities seek to offset the economic shock of the coronavirus.
China home price growth slows amid virus spread (9.10am)
China home prices rose at the slowest pace in almost two years in January, as sales plunged late in the month when the coronavirus outbreak worsened dramatically.
Home sales “fell off a cliff” as efforts to combat the virus ramped up, said Yang Kewei, an analyst at China Real Estate Information Corp. Entire cities, including Wuhan where the virus originated, were locked down, and people restricted from returning home from Lunar New Year travels.
Coronavirus cases top 70,000 (8.13am)
China reported 2,048 additional coronavirus cases by the end of Feb 16, bringing the total case count to 70,548, according to a statement from the National Health Commission.
China’s Hubei province reported 1,933 additional confirmed cases. While that’s slightly higher than a day earlier, it’s in line with a lower trend over the past several days. The province announced a stunning 15,000 new cases on Thursday after revising its method for counting infections.
The death toll in China increased by 105 to 1,770. More than 10,000 patients have been discharged so far. There are now five fatalities outside of mainland China, after France and Taiwan reported deaths over the weekend.
US in contact with Malaysia over Westerdam case (6.42am)
The US State Department said Sunday it’s in “close contact” with Malaysian authorities after an 83-year-old American woman fell ill with the coronavirus a day after leaving a cruise ship that showed no signs of the illness.
The woman was aboard the Westerdam, which over two weeks at sea was turned away by five different ports before docking late last week in Cambodia. Passengers were screened during the trip and all results were negative. A spokesperson for the State Department said because the ship was at sea for the required 14-day quarantine, passengers were free to travel after they left.
Hubei province reports 100 new fatalities (5.54am)
China’s Hubei reported 1,933 additional confirmed cases for Feb 16, taking the total case count in the province to 58,182, Hubei’s health commission said in a statement.
The death toll in the province rose by 100 to 1,696, while 6,639 patients have been discharged.
