G20 focus on risks to economy
BEIJING: China reported a rise in new cases of coronavirus yesterday, boosted by more than 200 people testing positive for the disease in two prisons outside Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak.
As international authorities tried to stop the outbreak from becoming a global pandemic, finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies meeting in Saudi Arabia over the weekend were set to discuss risks to the global economy.
‘‘We’re watching the impact with grave concern and keeping a close eye on down side risks,’’ Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in Tokyo before leaving for the meeting.
China has had more than 75,400 cases of the coronavirus and 2236 people have died, most in Hubei province and its capital of Wuhan.
Asian shares dipped as fears over the spread of the disease sent funds fleeing to the shelter of US assets, lifting the dollar to threeyear highs.
Japan and Singapore are on the brink of recession and South Korea yesterday said its exports to China slumped in the first 20 days of February, as the outbreak upended global supply chains.
Mainland China had 889 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections as of February 20, the National Health Commission said. The death toll rose by 118, most in Wuhan, which remains under virtual lockdown.
Infections found in two jails, in the provinces of Shandong and Zhejiang, made up most of the 258 newly confirmed cases outside Hubei.
There have been 11 deaths outside mainland China, according to a Reuters tally.
The South Korean city of Daegu is the latest hot spot, after dozens of people were infected in what authorities called a ‘‘superspreading event’’ at a church.
South Korea reported 52 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus yesterday, taking the national total to 156, the majority in Daegu. More than 400 members of the Daegu church were showing symptoms of the disease.
In Hong Kong, which has confirmed 69 cases and two deaths from the disease, dozens of police officers were quarantined after an officer tested positive following a banquet on Tuesday.
Iranian health officials urged all religious gatherings to be suspended in Qom, news agency ISNA said on Thursday, after two more people tested positive for the virus in the holy city where two died of it this week.
Another hot spot has been the Diamond Princess cruise ship held under quarantine in Japan since February 3.
Japan has allowed hundreds of passengers who test negative to leave the ship.
The Tokyo Metropolitan government said it would cancel or postpone major indoor events for three weeks, Jiji newswire reported, as the city prepares to host the 2020 Olympic Games starting in July.
As G20 finance ministers prepare to meet this weekend in Saudi Arabia, the IMF said it was too early to tell what impact the virus would have on global growth.
Fears of contagion triggered violence in Ukraine, where residents of a town clashed with police, burned tyres and hurled projectiles at a convoy of buses carrying evacuees from Hubei to a quarantine centre. Helmeted police and an armoured personnel carrier were sent to keep order.