Korean virus cases skyrocket; Japanese passenger turns positive

The number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Korea has increased tenfold in just four days to 556, and a passenger on the virus-stricken Diamond Princess tested positive after arriving home in Japan, despite a negative result during the ship’s 14-day quarantine. Yesterday, China’s Hubei province, where the outbreak began, saw 96 deaths, another decrease, in line with the toll reported in recent days.

The US has raised its travel alerts for Japan and South Korea to Level 2, while China remains at Level 4, meaning “do not travel.” Britain “advise against all but essential travel to Daegu and Cheongdo” in South Korea, and Italy, the country with the most infections in Europe, is banning passage to and from an affected area southeast of Milan.

China has pledged fiscal and monetary steps to help global growth rebound, even as finance chiefs from the world’s biggest economies, gathering in Saudi Arabia for the annual G20 meeting fret over the risks. The IMF says its baseline scenario is now for China to expand 5.6% this year, 0.4 of a percentage point lower than a January estimate, knocking 0.1 of a point off global growth.

SOURCE: Bloomberg News