The rapid spread of coronavirus raised fears of a pandemic on Friday, with countries on three continents reporting their first cases and Swiss authorities cancelling the giant Geneva car show.
World share markets crashed again, compounding their worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis and bringing the global wipeout to $5 trillion.
Hopes that the epidemic that started in China late last year would be over in months, and that economic activity would quickly return to normal, have been shattered as the number of international cases have spiraled.
“Investors are trying to price in the worst-case scenario and the biggest risk is what happens now in the United States and other major countries outside of Asia,” said SEI Investments Head of Asian Equities John Lau.
“These are highly uncertain times, no one really knows the answer and the markets are really panicking.”
Switzerland joined countries banning big events in an attempt to curb the epidemic, forcing cancellation of next week’s Geneva international car show, one of the automotive industry’s most important gatherings.
The United States asked its military in Saudi Arabia to avoid crowded venues including malls and cinemas.
Mainland China reported 327 new cases, the lowest since Jan. 23, taking its tally to more than 78,800 cases with almost 2,800 deaths.
China’s three biggest airlines restored some international flights and the Shanghai fashion show, initially postponed, went ahead online.
‘TIME FOR ACTION’
But as the outbreak eases in China it is surging elsewhere.
Four more countries reported their first cases, taking the number of countries and territories outside China with infections to 55, with more than 4,200 cases killing about 70 people.
Countries other than China now account for about three-quarters of new infections.
An Italian man who arrived in Nigeria was confirmed as the first coronavirus case in Africa’s most populous country. And a person who returned on a flight from Iran became the first in New Zealand.
In eastern Europe, Belarus and Lithuania reported their first cases.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said all nations should prepare.
“This virus has pandemic potential,” Tedros said in Geneva. “This is not a time for fear. This is a time for taking action to prevent infection and save lives now.”
Ratings agency Moody’s said a pandemic – usually taken to mean a disease spreading quickly in different places – would trigger global and U.S. recessions in the first half of the year.
‘DECISIVE’
Mongolia, which has yet to confirm a case, placed its president, Battulga Khaltmaa, in quarantine as a precaution after he returned from a trip to China, state media reported.
A Chinese official called the epidemic the most difficult health crisis in the country’s modern history. Another said some recovered patients had been found to be infectious, suggesting the epidemic may be even harder to eradicate.
In addition to stockpiling medical supplies, governments ordered schools shut and canceled big gatherings to try to halt the flu-like disease known as COVID-19.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration was considering invoking special powers to expand production of protective gear.
In Europe, France’s reported cases doubled, Germany warned of an impending epidemic and Greece, a gateway for refugees from the Middle East, announced tighter border controls.
The death toll in Italy, Europe’s worst-hit country, rose to 17 and those testing positive increased by more than 200 to 655.
Germany has nearly 60 cases, France about 38 and Spain 23, according to a Reuters count.
Tedros told reporters that Iran, Italy and South Korea were at a “decisive point” in efforts to prevent a wider outbreak.
OLYMPIC DOUBTS
South Korea has the most cases outside China. It reported 571 new infections on Friday, bringing the total to 2,337. The outbreak, which has killed 13 people in South Korea, has also dented President Moon Jae-in’s popularity, a poll showed.
The head of the WHO’s emergency program, Dr Mike Ryan, said Iran’s outbreak may be worse than realized. It has reported the most deaths outside China – 34 from 388 reported cases.
U.S. intelligence agencies are monitoring the spread of coronavirus in Iran as well as India, where only a handful of cases of have been reported, sources said.
Japan is scheduled to host the 2020 Olympics in July but Ryan said discussions were being held about whether to go ahead.
Organizers will decide next week on the ceremonial torch relay. It is due to arrive on March 20 for a 121-day journey past landmarks including Mount Fuji and Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park.
As of Friday, confirmed cases in Japan topped 200, with four deaths, excluding more than 700 cases and five more deaths from a quarantined cruise liner, Diamond Princess.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had called for schools to close and vowed to prevent a severe blow to an economy already teetering on the brink of recession.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Ryan Woo, Yingzhi Yang in Beijing, Lisa Lambert and Mark Hosenball in Washington, Sangmi Chai in Seoul, Leika Kihara in Tokyo, Kate Kelland in London, Michael Shields and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi in Zurich; Writing by Stephen Coates, Robert Birsel and Giles Elgood; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Jon Boyle)
