This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.
All times below are in Beijing time.
9:30 am: Guangzhou bans people from dining out in restaurants
In a bid to curb the spread of the virus, China’s Guangzhou city has banned people from going out to eat at restaurants. That ban was effective Feb. 12, as people came back to work this week after the extended Lunar New Year break.
Guangzhou is the capital of the manufacturing hub of Guangdong province, and is one of the largest cities in China. — Cheng
9:10 am: Bank of Japan warns coronavirus could hurt the country’s economy
Japan’s central bank said the impact of the outbreak on production and tourism must be monitored.
The country’s economy may already have contracted sharply in the October to December quarter due to slowing overseas demand and consumption taking a hit due to natural disasters, it said, according to Reuters.
Japan has 33 confirmed cases so far, and it reported its first death of a coronavirus patient on Thursday, although it was unclear if it was directly linked to the disease.
8:45 am: Chickens meant for China are being rerouted due to outbreak
Shipments of chicken from the U.S. to China are being diverted to ports in Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam due to the virus outbreak, according to Reuters, citing a U.S. poultry export trade group.
This is due to the outbreak keeping people from coming back to work in China, leading to a slowdown in the unloading of products at Chinese ports, which have run out of space for refrigerated containers. Such containers must be plugged into power once offloaded, to keep frozen meat cold, the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council told Reuters.
An estimated 300 to 400 refrigerated containers with poultry are being diverted, the council said, according to the report.
7:55 am: Hubei reports 4,823 new cases
China’s Hubei province reported an additional 116 deaths and 4,823 new confirmed cases as of the end of Feb. 13. Of the new cases, the government said that 3,095 were “clinically diagnosed.”
That term refers to a new method for tabulating case totals which now count toward the “confirmed case” count. The change was made so a broader set of patients can receive the same treatment a confirmed case does, according to a CNBC translation of the official announcement’s Chinese text.
In total, Hubei authorities said that 51,986 people have been infected in the province.
A woman wears a protective mask as she rides a bicycle on February 11.2020 in Wuhan. Hubei province, China. Flights, trains and public transport including buses, subway and ferry services have been suspended.
Getty Images
All times below are in Eastern time.
5:55 pm: Royal Caribbean warns cruise cancellations in Asia to shave 2020 profit by 65 cents
Royal Caribbean has had to cancel 18 sailings in Southeast Asia and modify itineraries for several other cruises. The result: a big blow the bottom line. The company expects 65 cents will be shaved off its 2020 earnings per share. If the outbreak continues and it’s forced to cancel all of its trips in the region through the end of April, profits would take an additional hit of 55 cents per share.
The company added it’s in regular conversation with the CDC, the WHO and other health authorities and has put in place measures to protect passengers and crew. Among those steps is denying the boarding of people who have travelled to and from mainland China or Hong Kong in the past 15 days.
“It is important that every organization acts responsibly, and we have already taken aggressive steps to minimize risk through boarding restrictions and itinerary changes,” said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO.
Royal Caribbean shares were down more than 1% in extended trading. Shares have fallen nearly 15% since the start of the year. — Cheddar Berk
12:07 pm: White House does not have ‘high confidence’ in China’s coronavirus data
The United States does “not have high confidence in the information coming out of China” regarding the count of coronavirus cases, a senior administration official told CNBC’s Eamon Javers. The official also noted that China “continues to rebuff American offers of assistance.” The New York Times reported last week that Chinese authorities had shown little interest in accepting help from the U.S. — Lovelace
10:25 am: CDC confirms 15th US case in evacuee under quarantine at Texas military base
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a 15th case in the U.S., a recent evacuee from Wuhan who was quarantined at the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas. The U.S. evacuated roughly 800 Americans from Wuhan, more than 600 of which remain under quarantine at military facilities across the nation.
Two other evacuees at a Marine Corps base near San Diego, California also have COVID-19, the CDC said Wednesday. “There will likely be additional cases in the coming days and weeks, including among other people recently returned from Wuhan,” the CDC said. — Feuer
9:36 am: China’s Huanggang to seal apartments as it tightens virus control measures
China’s city of Huanggang, near the epicentre of the outbreak of the coronavirus, said that starting from Friday it would tighten epidemic control measures including sealing residential complexes and only allowing essential vehicles on roads. Food and the delivery of other essential goods will be arranged by designated personnel, the city said in a statement. — Reuters
Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: The United States confirms 15th case as global cases soar above 60,300
— CNBC’s Dawn Kopecki, Berkeley Lovelace Jr., and William Feuer contributed to this report.
