Coronavirus panic spreads as death toll rises
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday confirmed a fifth case of coronavirus in the United States, CNN reported. The latest two cases were in California. Both patients are being treated in hospitals, authorities said. All five of the U.S. patients had recently traveled to Wuhan, the city in central China at the heart of the outbreak of the flu-like virus. Chinese health officials on Sunday warned that the virus can spread before infected people have symptoms, potentially increasing the challenge of containing its spread. The death toll in China has risen to at least 80, with more than 2,700 confirmed infections, according to The Associated Press.
Chinese officials released data Sunday offering an early indication of the effect of the deadly outbreak on the world's second largest economy. Liu Xiaoming, vice minister of transport, said overall travel had declined on the first day of the Lunar New Year by 29 percent compared to a year ago, CNBC reported. Rail travel was down by nearly 42 percent. In an effort to contain the virus, authorities have banned most travel in parts of central China where the epidemic started. The government has urged people to stay home and canceled big public events. On Sunday, China Railway Chengdu also announced the suspension of several high-speed train routes, including some to Shanghai.
World stocks dropped on Monday as concerns mounted about possible economic fallout from the outbreak, Reuters reported. The MSCI All-Country World Index, which follows shares in 47 countries, fell by 0.4 percent to its lowest in two weeks. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 1.4 percent. U.S. stock index shares also were down sharply several hours before the opening bell as investors sought safe-haven assets, including Treasury notes.
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