U.K. Passengers Infected; Italy Halts Carnival: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) — Italy canceled public events in the north of the country including the Venice Carnival after coronavirus infections rose to 140 and a travel ban affecting about 50,000 people southeast of Milan was implemented. South Korea raised the country’s infectious-disease alert to the highest level after a 20-fold increase in cases in five days.

The U.K. said four passengers who arrived Saturday from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan tested positive for the virus. Three passengers on the ship have died while another tested positive at home, despite a negative reading during the ship’s quarantine.

Inside China, a study showed how extended stays on ventilators are straining hospitals at the disease’s epicenter. China’s top leadership pledged further fiscal and monetary steps to help growth rebound, while finance chiefs from the world’s biggest economies, gathering in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, fretted over the risks.

Key Developments

South Korea raises alert to highest level as cases reach 602Italy infections reach 140China cases rose to at least 76,936, with 2,442 fatalitiesIMF’s Georgieva says outbreak puts recovery at risk

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New Cases in Italy Reach 140 (2:20 p.m)

Italian authorities reported cases in three regions: 110 in Lombardy; 21 in Veneto and nine in Emilia Romagna. Of those, 25 are in intensive care. Italy reported its third coronavirus death on Sunday, a woman in her 80s.

Long Ventilator Stays Strain Hospitals in China (1:50 p.m. NY)

Critical care resources in central China are being strained by coronavirus patients needing a month or more on mechanical ventilators, a study finds.

More than two-thirds of critically ill patients required invasive breathing support, doctors at the outbreak’s epicenter in Hubei province reported.

That burden could become more acute: Some 40,0127 people are hospitalized with Covid-19 in Hubei. Among those, 8,853 cases are serious and 1,845 are critically ill.

Italy Reports Third Death (11:46 a.m. NY)

Italy confirmed a third death from the coronavirus as infections climbed to 132. Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte said on RAI television that he’s confident the country can limit the contagion. The Lombardy region has entered into phase two of limiting and containing the spread of the virus, Lombardy health official Giulio Gallera said at a briefing in Milan.

“We are ready to increase measures and restrictions if needed,” Attilio Fontana regional governor of the Lombardy region said. La Scala opera house is among the public buildings that suspended performances as a precaution.

Passengers Test Positive in U.K. (11:32 a.m. NY)

Four more patients have tested positive for the coronavirus in the U.K., Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said in a statement. They arrived in the country yesterday on an evacuation flight with 32 passengers from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship from Japan and are being taken from the quarantine location to specialist NHS infection centers. The total number of cases in the U.K. is now 13.

EU Says More Containment May Be Needed (11:25 a.m. NY)

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said more cases in Italy and the EU are expected in coming days. “These extraordinary measures in northern Italy are essential to limit the outbreak and may need to be replicated in other communities in the coming days,” it said in a statement. The ECDC is monitoring the situation and will issue an updated risk assessment with the next 24 hours.

Virus Could Put Recovery at Risk: IMF (8:55 a.m. NY)

The virus outbreak has disrupted economic activity in China and could put global economic recovery at risk, Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said in a statement after the G-20 meeting. “Even in the case of rapid containment of the virus, growth in China and the rest of the world would be impacted,” Georgieva said. “We all hope for a V-shaped, rapid recovery—but given the uncertainty, it would be prudent to prepare for more adverse scenarios.”

Turkey Shuts Border With Iran (8:48 a.m. NY)

Turkey will temporarily close its border with Iran and halt train services between the countries, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Sunday. Turkey has no known cases of the coronavirus, while Iran has the most in the Middle East, with 43 including eight fatalities. Jordan won’t allow entry to expatriates coming from Iran, South Korea and China, Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh said. Jordanians returning from these countries will undergo a two-week quarantine.

Venice Carnival, Public Events Halted (8 a.m. NY)

Authorities in Venice canceled all public events for a week, including the remaining days of the city’s flagship Carnival celebration, the head of the regional government said. Milan adopted similar measures, which will likely affect the rest of its Fashion Week.

Italy has 132 confirmed cases, the country’s head of civil protection said at briefing. Of those, 22 are in intensive care and others are isolated after the relatives of known patients were tested. Lombardy has suspended schools and other public spaces and events. Bologna University is closed until March 2.

Third Diamond Princess Passenger Dies (7:07 a.m. NY)

A third passenger from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama died, Japan’s health ministry said in a statement, citing pneumonia as the cause of death. The victim was a Japanese man was in his 80s.

Iran Reports Eighth Death, 43 Cases (6:19 p.m. HK)

The number of infected people has reached 43, including the eight fatalities, Kianoush Jahanpour, a spokesperson for the health ministry, said on state TV. Iran has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the Middle East. Seven of the new infections are in Qom, the epicenter of the outbreak in the country, four in Tehran, and the others in Gilan, Mazandaran and Markazi provinces, he said. Kuwait stopped ships from Iran calling at its ports.

Japan to Boost Monitoring (6:10 p.m. HK)

Japan will strengthen its follow-up of passengers who left the quarantined Diamond Princess after a woman in Tochigi prefecture tested positive after returning home from the ship, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said in a briefing in Tokyo. A third passenger from the ship has died, NHK reported.

South Korea on Red Alert (3:17 p.m. HK)

South Korea raised its infectious-disease alert to red, the highest level, after the number of coronavirus cases soared in recent days. President Moon Jae-in said at a meeting with health authorities that the government could take “powerful measures like never before without being tied to regulations” to contain the outbreak.

The country also on Sunday reported 169 new cases, bringing the total to 602. That marks about a 20-fold surge within five days. Many of the infections have been at a hospital in Cheongdo, with almost all the patients in the psychiatric ward of that facility being affected. Local reports have said that a religious sect with followers who were infected had attended a funeral in the same complex.

Trump Said to Seek Emergency Funds (1:01 p.m. HK)

President Donald Trump will soon ask the U.S. Congress for emergency funds to fight the coronavirus outbreak, Politico reported, citing four people with knowledge of matter who weren’t identified.

The funding may be as little as $1 billion, significantly lower than some health officials say is sufficient, two of the people told Politico. The money could be spent quickly on developing potential vaccines and lab tests, they said.

China Central Banker Sees Limited Economic Impact (11:56 a.m. HK)

China has sufficient policy scope to address the impact of the coronavirus on the economy, which will prove limited, according to People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor Chen Yulu, the central bank said in a posting Sunday. Chen in a Financial Times column Feb. 20 wrote that China will probably see a “V-shaped” recovery.

China’s top leaders pledged a more proactive fiscal policy after a Feb. 21 meeting, and the PBOC signaled further monetary steps to come.

Japanese Cruise Passenger Tests Positive (8:58 a.m. HK)

A woman in her 60s who had tested negative for the virus during the quarantine Feb. 14 on board the Diamond Princess ended up falling ill after returning home. Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo, said in a statement that she developed a fever on Feb. 21 and tested positive on Feb. 22.

The development underscored a Feb. 18 warning by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that there was an “ongoing risk” from the passengers. More than 1,000 passengers left the virus-hit ship last week after the quarantine period.

Hubei Has 96 Deaths for Total of 2,346 (6:10 a.m. HK)

China’s Hubei province on Sunday reported an additional 630 cases on Feb. 22, and 96 further deaths. It said 1,742 patients were discharged. The death toll in the epicenter of the disease now stands at 2,346 people.

Those tallies account for the majority of the national totals in China, which now stand at 2,442 dead and 76,936 cases.

–With assistance from Alessandro Speciale, Daniele Lepido, Arsalan Shahla and Nikos Chrysoloras.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.net;Ian Fisher in New York at ifisher10@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Sara Marley, Virginia Van Natta

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