Coronavirus: Dexamethasone proves first life-saving drug (BBC)
• Fauci will oppose any rush to announce COVID-19 vaccine before ‘scientifically sound’ (McClatchy DC)
• Life-saving coronavirus drug ‘major breakthrough’ (BBC)
• New COVID-19 Antibody Test Targets Unique Region of Spike Protein (Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News)
• FDA revokes emergency use ruling for hydroxychloroquine: On Monday, it withdrew emergency approval for use of the malaria drug as a Covid-19 treatment (Stat)
• CureVac Coronavirus Vaccine Cleared for Human Trials in Germany (Bloomberg)
• Genes May Leave Some People More Vulnerable to Severe Covid-19 (NYT)
• Healthy teenager who took precautions died suddenly of Covid-19 (CNN)
• Rare, super coronavirus antibodies likely to yield vaccine, say Stanford, UCSF experts (San Francisco Chronicle)
• How deadly is the coronavirus? Scientists are close to an answer (Nature)
• UK public health bodies reviewing vitamin D’s effects on coronavirus (The Guardian)
• Is the world making progress against the pandemic? We built the chart to answer this question (Our World In Data)
Archives of “Zoonoses” tag
rssWHO: COVID-19 is a type of coronavirus that starts in bats
The WHO is giving a briefing on the animal origins of the virus
- The coronavirus origin is linked to food, that is not unique
- The Wuhan market played a role in spreading of the virus
The headline remark will surely infuriate US officials even more.
For what it’s worth, Der Spiegel is also reporting that Germany has doubts about the US’ claim that the virus came from a Chinese lab.
The report didn’t cite a source but says that the German Federal Intelligence Service was in touch with its partners from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and none of them were able to confirm the claims made by US secretary of state Pompeo.
Japan offers Avigan for free to countries fighting coronavirus
The flu drug Avigan will be made available at no cost to countries that ask for it to treat the novel coronavirus, the Japanese government announced Friday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that about 30 countries have sought Avigan through diplomatic channels. “We are making arrangements to provide it for free,” he said.
Doing so will help expand clinical research into the drug, Suga said. At 2,617 cases as of Friday, Japan has relatively few of the more than 1 million infections worldwide, making broad clinical trials difficult.
Indonesia ordered 2 million doses of Avigan on March 20, and the country plans to begin clinical testing once the shipment arrives. The country has seen coronavirus cases there surge to 1,986, after going weeks without confirming infections in the early stages of the epidemic. Indonesia now has 181 deaths, placing it higher than South Korea, and second only to China in Asia.
Japan has also received a request from Turkey. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca met with Akio Miyajima, the Japanese ambassador to Ankara, last month and inquired about acquiring Avigan, diplomatic sources told the Nikkei Asian Review. (more…)
Trump drops idea of New York lockdown as U.S. death count crosses 2,000
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would issue a travel warning for the hard-hit New York area to limit the spread of the coronavirus, backing off from an earlier suggestion that he might try to cut off the region entirely.
“A quarantine will not be necessary,” he said on Twitter.
Trump’s announcement came as the U.S. death count crossed 2,100, more than double the level from two days ago. The United States has now recorded more than 122,000 cases of the respiratory virus, the most of any country in the world.
Since the virus first appeared in the United States in late January, Trump has vacillated between playing down the risks of infection and urging Americans to take steps to slow its spread.
Trump said on Saturday afternoon that he might impose a ban on travel in and out of New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, the U.S. epicenter of the disease, to protect other states that have yet to bear the brunt. He offered few specifics.
Critics promptly called the idea unworkable, saying it would cause chaos in a region that serves as the economic engine of the eastern United States, accounting for 10 percent of the population and 12 percent of GDP. (more…)
China official PMIs February: Manufacturing 35.7 (expected 45.0) Non-manufacturing 29.6 (expected 51.0)
China’s economy was hit hard right from the Lunar New Year holiday and the weeks after from the coronavirus outbreak.
- deaths now number >3,000 in China
- Severe travel restrictions
- Severe actions on public health
- Business closures
Manufacturing 35.7, this is the lowest ever recorded for this indicator.
- expected 45.0, prior 50.0
Non-manufacturing 29.6 … I mentioned during the week I was surprised the ‘expected’ for this was still in expansion. And here we are, deepest in contraction ever recorded
- expected 51.0, prior 54.1
Composite 28.9
- prior 53.0
Italy coronavirus cases are inflated due to testing errors – WHO official
A WHO official with a remark over the coronavirus cases in Italy
Some good news for risk perhaps? The market isn’t budging though as there is no further details on the margin of error. That said, the fact that we are seeing cases become more widespread across Europe doesn’t help to do much damage control for now.
Update: Okay, this is a piece from Corriere which is saying that the Veneto region did not follow test guidelines when testing patients for the infection. Just take note that Veneto had 71 reported infections in the country yesterday, out of the nearly 400 cases reported.
British Airways suspends bookings of direct flights to China until March
In response to the coronavirus outbreak situation
The airline has halted bookings on its website for direct flights from London to Beijing and Shanghai until March, after warnings over travel to China.
They are still offering connecting flights though, with the layover being in Hong Kong (mostly) before passengers have to continue with a different airline.
Reuters tried to get in contact with BA on the matter, but a spokeswoman just said that they were “assessing the situation”.
If we do see more airlines and countries take more drastic measures, expect that to weigh further on the Chinese economy and in turn, the global economy to start the year.
What is your preferred source of safety from the Coronavirus?
Via Bloomberg, question of the day ?
This was a question on Bloomberg Market’s Live blog this week and I thought I would ask our Forexlive readership the same question. What are you looking at for safety in the current concerns over the coronavirus?
- Treasuries: One of the first ‘go to places’.
- Gold: Another quick go to place for value. Short term it makes sense for a quick spike, but longer term the improving US outlook means that gains should be capped
- Bitcoin: Sometimes mirrors gold as a digital ‘gold’, but for some investors the jury is still out whether bitcoin is here to stay or a first flush of a changing digital age that may or may not be here. For me, when investing in a safe haven on the coronavirus fears, I would favour gold over bitcoin every time. Is that just an unfair bias and unnecessary conservatism, or sensible? Anyone take the other view?
- Tech stocks: Seen as less vulnerable as industrials, finance or energy stocks. Perhaps long health stocks?
Other areas to look at?
China imposes restrictions on travel to Beijing
More signs of how serious Beijing is taking the epidemic
China reported 10 new coronavirus cases in Beijing today and there are now 51 cases in the city.
The latest restrictions prevent bus travel to Beijing from elsewhere. Private cars and trains are still allowed but passengers via those methods are more-often tracked.
As CNBC Beijing correspondent Eunice Yoon reports: