Coronavirus live updates: WHO says 15% of patients get pneumonia, Burger King closes half its China locations

FAN Editor

This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.

All times below are in Eastern time.

Total confirmed cases: More than 40,000
Total deaths: At least 910

2:10 pm: First-quarter US GDP may be as low as 1.2% because of coronavirus, but stocks don’t seem to care

Concern about the coronavirus is weighing heavily on the outlook for first-quarter growth and some forecasters suggest the equity market is not taking the threat as seriously as the bond market. A CNBC survey of 11 forecasters over the weekend finds first quarter GDP estimates averaging just 1.2%, down nearly a point from the fourth quarter. Economists see a bounce back to 2% growth in the second quarter, depending on the severity of the virus both in China and in other countries. First-quarter forecasts range from a low of 0.4% from UBS to a high of 2% for Action Economics. Deutsche Bank shaved 0.3% off its first quarter number due to the coronavirus effects and 0.4% because of Boeing. “Most of the lost output is expected to be recouped in the back half of the year,” the bank wrote in its recent report.

2 pm: Automakers resume or prepare to restart car production

Several automakers have reopened or are preparing to restart factories in China after an extended holiday shutdown due to the coronavirus, which is now responsible for more than 900 deaths in the country. Ford Motor resumed vehicle production at its plants in Chongqing and Hangzhou, according to Anderson Chan, a company spokesman. It’s unclear when the facilities will resume their full capacity before the shutdown, which started late last month. Tesla, according to Reuters and local media reports, on Monday reopened its Shanghai Gigafactory. Tesla on Jan. 30 said it expected a one to one-and-a-half-week delay in the ramp of its Model 3 sedan as a result of the epidemic. Spokespeople for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Other automakers such as General Motors and Japan’s largest automakers are preparing to restart their China operations in the coming days and weeks, according to officials.

1:35 pm: Gottlieb says screening and fist bumps over handshakes will help protect against coronavirus

Coronavirus is spreading in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore. Community spread is suspected in other nations. Models suggest that for every person who traveled into the U.S. infected with coronavirus, and who was successfully diagnosed and quarantined, maybe three more arrived undetected. It was only toward the end of January that we started to even look for sick travelers. Singapore, where community spread seems to be taking route, has about as many travelers arriving from China as the U.S. does — around 3 million a year. It’s understandable that small outbreaks might become evident in that small and dense island nation of 5.7 million before they can be spotted in the U.S. But if one assumes that the virus was also imported into U.S. communities in low numbers in early January, and is now replicating, more cases could emerge. — Gottlieb

1:12 pm: Burger King shutters half its locations in China

Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King, has temporarily closed about half of its roughly 1,000 locations in China, CEO Jose Cil told Yahoo Finance. “The biggest priority for us is making sure our team members are safe,” Cil said. “Their health is of the utmost priority as well as the guests. We are working with local authorities and master franchisees in the markets to make sure we have everything in account.” Representatives from RBI were not immediately available for comment. — Feuer

12:10 pm: Hong Kong evacuates building

Health officials in Hong Kong evacuated a building in Tsing Yi where two residents, who live on different floors, have been confirmed to have coronavirus, director of the Center for Health Protection Dr. Wong Ka-hing said. The government is investigating the suspected environmental transmission, he added. Hong Kong has confirmed 42 cases. — Reuters

11:20 am: Sony pulls out of major trade event

Sony announced that it is the latest company pulling out of the Mobile World Conference, following other tech companies, including Amazon. The conference is scheduled for Feb. 24-27 in Barcelona, Spain. On Sunday, French health authorities confirmed Spain’s second case of the new coronavirus. Instead of appearing at the event, Sony said it will hold a video call to announce product news on Feb. 24. — Feuer

10:42 am: Goldman says buy value stocks if coronavirus fears prove to be overblown

For investors who believe the impact of the coronavirus outbreak will be contained, Goldman Sachs said buy the dip in value stocks. Stocks rebounded last week despite lingering fears about the deadly virus, with the S&P 500 pulling off its biggest weekly gain since June. If the concerns about the epidemic turn out to be overblown, stocks with solid dividend growth should outperform, according to David Kostin, Goldman’s head of U.S. equity strategy. “Investors who believe the economic consequences of the coronavirus will be limited should increase exposure to cyclicals and value stocks,” Kostin said in a research note. — Li

This map shows the latest spread of coronavirus

10:34 am: WHO officials say 15% of all patients get pneumonia

The World Health Organization’s Dr. Sylvia Briand told reporters the disease produces mild cold symptoms in about 80% of the cases they’ve seen so far. About 15% of the people who have contracted the virus have ended up with pneumonia, with 3% to 5% of all patients needing intensive care. — Kopecki

Officers in protective gear enter the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where 10 more people were tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, to transfer a patient to the hospital after the ship arrived at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan February 7, 2020.

Kim Kyung-Hoon | Reuters

10:20 am: WHO officials concerned about human transmission in new cases

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said health officials were concerned about new cases confirmed in France on Sunday and in the U.K. on Monday that were transmitted without any travel history to China. “The detection of this small number of cases could be the spark that becomes a bigger fire, but for now it’s only a spark,” he said during a press conference at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva. “Our objective remains containment. We call on all countries to use the window of opportunity we have to prevent a bigger fire.” — Lovelace

10:05 am: ‘Imagine being trapped in your bathroom’ — cruise passenger details quarantine

A California passenger aboard Carnival’s Diamond Princess told CNBC it “can be a little bit depressing” when thinking about how much longer he and his wife must remain on the quarantined cruise ship: likely nine more days. Matthew Smith said he is “maintaining his confidence” that he and his wife, Katherine, will not test positive for the new coronavirus and be able to go home after the two-week mandatory quarantine on the cruise ship ends. — Lovelace

Matthew Smith, a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship

Source: CNBC

10 am: WHO officials hold press conference

World Health Organization officials are holding a press conference Monday to update the public on the outbreak, which has killed more people than SARS as of this weekend. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, warned Sunday that while the virus has yet to spread widely outside of China, that could accelerate. “The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more widespread transmission in other countries,” he said in a tweet, “in short, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg.” Watch the press conference here. — Kopecki

9:42 am: Hundreds of Chinese firms seek billions in loans

More than 300 Chinese companies, including smartphone maker Xiaomi and ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, are seeking bank loans totaling at least $8.2 billion to soften the impact of the coronavirus, two banking sources told Reuters. The firms were either involved in the control of the epidemic or had been hardest hit, the sources said. Xiaomi, the world’s fourth-biggest smartphone maker, is seeking $716.24 million in loans to produce and sell medical equipment including masks and thermometers, according to documents sent to banks in Beijing by the city government’s finance bureau that the sources have reviewed. — Feuer

Hospital staff in protective garments walk at a checkpoint to the Hubei province exclusion zone at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, February 1, 2020. The banner reads: ‘Committed to the fight to prevent and control the epidemic’.

Thomas Peter | Reuters

9 am: Inflation in China runs rampant because of the outbreak

Inflation in China hit its highest level in more than eight years last month as the outbreak drove up demand for some consumer goods and shuttered business activity in parts of the country. China’s consumer price index rose 5.4% in January, after rising 4.5% in December, according to CEIC. The rise in consumer prices continues a recent acceleration for inflation in China, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. Inflation hit 3% in September and then broke above 4% in November. The bureau said in a statement that the increased inflation in January was due to the Lunar New Year holiday, the coronavirus outbreak and a lower price base from last year, according to Reuters. — Pound

8:15 am: WeWork temporarily closes 100 buildings in China

A guest attends the opening ceremony of WeWork Hong Kong flagship location in Hong Kong, China February 23, 2017.

Bobby Yip | Reuters

Office-sharing start-up WeWork has temporarily closed 100 buildings in China due to the outbreak, WeWork Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on “Squawk Box” on Monday. Claure said no members or employees are infected. “That’s a great win,” he said. “We’re monitoring and working with the Chinese government to make sure we’re following the proper guidelines.” He also said that “it’s an issue” having 100 buildings close with members not having access to them and “just working with emergency personnel.” — Feuer, Bursztynsky

6:15 am: China’s Xi says the country will definitely win fight against coronavirus

Chinese President Xi Jinping insisted the country will win the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, saying he will adopt more decisive measures to contain the spread. Speaking on state television Monday, Xi said the country would speed up the development of drugs that have relatively good clinical effects against the deadly pneumonia-like virus. Xi’s comments come shortly after China’s National Health Commission said it had confirmed more than 3,000 new cases and almost 100 deaths as of Sunday night. The world’s second-largest economy now has a total of 40,141 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country, with 908 deaths.

5:45 am: Mongolia suspends coal exports to China until March 2 amid coronavirus outbreak

Mongolia has suspended deliveries of coal across its southern border into China until March 2, Reuters reported Monday, citing the country’s National Emergency Commission. The move is designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, with the commission also recommending the country suspend its Tsagaan Sar Lunar New Year celebrations later this month. Mongolia has not yet reported any cases of the coronavirus.

5 am: UK confirms four new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total to eight

The U.K. has confirmed four new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total in the country to eight.The new cases are all known contacts of a previously confirmed U.K. case, with the virus passed on in France, the Department of Health and Social Care said Monday. “The patients have been transferred to specialist NHS centres in London, and we are now using robust infection control measures to prevent further spread of the virus,” Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said in a statement via Twitter. Earlier in the day, the U.K. declared the coronavirus a serious and imminent threat to public health.

Read CNBC’s coverage from the Asia-Pacific overnight: Xi insists China will definitely win fight against outbreak; death toll at 908

— Reuters and CNBC’s William Feuer, Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Jessica Bursztynsky, Saheli Roy Choudhury and Sam Meredith contributed to this report.

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