The authorities put thousands of passengers and crew aboard two cruise ships in Asian waters in quarantine Wednesday, as part of a precautionary measure due to the Corona virus that appeared in China, while companies in the aviation and auto manufacturing sectors and other international companies are counting the cost of the rapid spread of the virus.
The National Health Commission of China announced 70 new deaths Thursday, bringing the number of deaths on the Chinese mainland to 560, mostly in the central city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and around the virus after it emerged late last year.
Two people outside the mainland died of the virus after visiting Wuhan, one is a man in the Philippines who died last week and the other is 39 and died Tuesday in Hong Kong.
The virus has disrupted air travel, with more than 20 airlines announcing suspension or curtailment of flights to China, while several countries, including the United States, have banned anyone from visiting China over the past two weeks.
The turmoil extended this week to include cruise ships, where about 3,700 people were quarantined for two weeks on a ship anchored off the coast of Japan, after health officials confirmed that ten people were infected with the virus.
Passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship posted pictures on the Internet to officials, wearing masks and wearing protective clothing, as they were conducting medical checks. The pictures show the deck empty.
"This is not a good situation," said a British passenger, David Abel, in a video snapped in his cabin and posted on Facebook.
In Hong Kong, more than 3,600 passengers and crew of a cruise ship anchored off the city coast were held pending examination, after it was confirmed earlier that three of them were infected with the virus.
Hong Kong's national airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, has asked its 27,000 employees for an unpaid vacation for three weeks, saying conditions are now appalling, as they were during the 2009 financial crisis.
American Airlines and United Airlines announced the suspension of all flights to and from Hong Kong after the end of this week, in a move which means that there are no longer any American airlines to carry passengers to the city, which is a financial center in Asia.
The Chinese stock market lost about $ 700 billion of its value on Monday, with several factories closing their doors, isolating cities and imposing travel restrictions, which fueled concerns about global supply chains. Asian stock markets stabilized somewhat on Wednesday.
Hyundai Motor will suspend production in South Korea, where its largest manufacturing bases are, becoming the first major automaker outside China to make the move after parts supplies are disrupted by the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
A large number of global car manufacturers, including Hyundai, Tesla, Ford and B. S. A Peugeot Citroen, Japan's Nissan and Honda Motor Co. have already shut down some of its factories in China this week, in line with government instructions.
Airbus aircraft maker said it had suspended the final assembly line for its aircraft in Tianjin, China.
A person familiar with the matter said that the Taiwanese company Foxconn, which makes smartphones for Apple and other brands and which suspended production in China almost "completely," aims to restart its factories in China next week, but it may take a week or two or more to resume production completely.
The German company, Adidas, for the manufacture of clothing and sports equipment, said it would temporarily close a "large" number of its warehouses in China.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the virus would delay the prospect of prosperity for US exports to China as a result of the first stage of the trade agreement between the two countries.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the virus exacerbated economic uncertainty.
"While the threat of a trade war between the United States and China has diminished, the Corona virus adds a new layer of uncertainty," she added in Paris.
Evidence of human-to-human transmission outside China emerged after an international business meeting in Singapore in January linked news of HIV cases in Malaysia and South Korea, and authorities have not commented on the matter.
Singapore, one of the countries hardest hit by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outside China in 2003, reportedly had 28 cases of the new coronavirus.
The Singapore Ministry of Health confirmed four new cases of the disease on Wednesday, including a six-month-old baby. She explained that the sick parents, who are also from Singapore, are infected with the virus.
On the Chinese mainland, 3,887 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number of cases to 24,324 people.
Reuters statistics, which were based on official data from the relevant authorities, revealed that there were about 230 HIV cases reported in 27 countries and regions outside the mainland.
The World Health Organization has declared that the virus is a global health emergency, and experts say its characteristics are not yet clear, including its death rate and transmission methods. Official Chinese media reported that the virus could be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her unborn baby.
"There are no known effective treatments for this (virus)," said WHO spokesman Tariq Gasarevich.
According to the Interfax news agency, Russia said it would take between eight and ten months to develop a vaccine for the disease. Dozens of Russians began being held in quarantine for two weeks in Siberia on Wednesday after being transferred from Wuhan, China.
Beijing has criticized the travel restrictions imposed by the United States on foreign citizens who visited China, describing it as an overreaction and called on Washington to do more to help it.
The National Health Commission of China announced 70 new deaths Thursday, bringing the number of deaths on the Chinese mainland to 560, mostly in the central city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and around the virus after it emerged late last year.
Two people outside the mainland died of the virus after visiting Wuhan, one is a man in the Philippines who died last week and the other is 39 and died Tuesday in Hong Kong.
The virus has disrupted air travel, with more than 20 airlines announcing suspension or curtailment of flights to China, while several countries, including the United States, have banned anyone from visiting China over the past two weeks.
The turmoil extended this week to include cruise ships, where about 3,700 people were quarantined for two weeks on a ship anchored off the coast of Japan, after health officials confirmed that ten people were infected with the virus.
Passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship posted pictures on the Internet to officials, wearing masks and wearing protective clothing, as they were conducting medical checks. The pictures show the deck empty.
"This is not a good situation," said a British passenger, David Abel, in a video snapped in his cabin and posted on Facebook.
In Hong Kong, more than 3,600 passengers and crew of a cruise ship anchored off the city coast were held pending examination, after it was confirmed earlier that three of them were infected with the virus.
Hong Kong's national airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, has asked its 27,000 employees for an unpaid vacation for three weeks, saying conditions are now appalling, as they were during the 2009 financial crisis.
American Airlines and United Airlines announced the suspension of all flights to and from Hong Kong after the end of this week, in a move which means that there are no longer any American airlines to carry passengers to the city, which is a financial center in Asia.
The Chinese stock market lost about $ 700 billion of its value on Monday, with several factories closing their doors, isolating cities and imposing travel restrictions, which fueled concerns about global supply chains. Asian stock markets stabilized somewhat on Wednesday.
Hyundai Motor will suspend production in South Korea, where its largest manufacturing bases are, becoming the first major automaker outside China to make the move after parts supplies are disrupted by the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
A large number of global car manufacturers, including Hyundai, Tesla, Ford and B. S. A Peugeot Citroen, Japan's Nissan and Honda Motor Co. have already shut down some of its factories in China this week, in line with government instructions.
Airbus aircraft maker said it had suspended the final assembly line for its aircraft in Tianjin, China.
A person familiar with the matter said that the Taiwanese company Foxconn, which makes smartphones for Apple and other brands and which suspended production in China almost "completely," aims to restart its factories in China next week, but it may take a week or two or more to resume production completely.
The German company, Adidas, for the manufacture of clothing and sports equipment, said it would temporarily close a "large" number of its warehouses in China.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the virus would delay the prospect of prosperity for US exports to China as a result of the first stage of the trade agreement between the two countries.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the virus exacerbated economic uncertainty.
"While the threat of a trade war between the United States and China has diminished, the Corona virus adds a new layer of uncertainty," she added in Paris.
Evidence of human-to-human transmission outside China emerged after an international business meeting in Singapore in January linked news of HIV cases in Malaysia and South Korea, and authorities have not commented on the matter.
Singapore, one of the countries hardest hit by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outside China in 2003, reportedly had 28 cases of the new coronavirus.
The Singapore Ministry of Health confirmed four new cases of the disease on Wednesday, including a six-month-old baby. She explained that the sick parents, who are also from Singapore, are infected with the virus.
On the Chinese mainland, 3,887 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number of cases to 24,324 people.
Reuters statistics, which were based on official data from the relevant authorities, revealed that there were about 230 HIV cases reported in 27 countries and regions outside the mainland.
The World Health Organization has declared that the virus is a global health emergency, and experts say its characteristics are not yet clear, including its death rate and transmission methods. Official Chinese media reported that the virus could be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her unborn baby.
"There are no known effective treatments for this (virus)," said WHO spokesman Tariq Gasarevich.
According to the Interfax news agency, Russia said it would take between eight and ten months to develop a vaccine for the disease. Dozens of Russians began being held in quarantine for two weeks in Siberia on Wednesday after being transferred from Wuhan, China.
Beijing has criticized the travel restrictions imposed by the United States on foreign citizens who visited China, describing it as an overreaction and called on Washington to do more to help it.
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