Coronavirus live updates: Poland reports first infection as cases globally pass 93,000

FAN Editor
  • Global cases: At least 93,000, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization
  • Global deaths: At least 3,100, according to the latest figures from the WHO

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

All times below are in Beijing time.

4:20 pm: Toyota’s car sales in China dive 70%

Japanese automaker Toyota said its car sales in China fell by 70% in February due to the coronavirus outbreak, reported Reuters. 

China is the world’s largest auto market. The China Passenger Car Association said overall passenger car sales in China declined by 89% in the first 23 days of February, according to Reuters. — Lee

3:45 pm: Poland reports first case 

Poland has confirmed its first case of the coronavirus disease, according to the country’s Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski.

The man is in hospital in Zielona Gora, western Poland, and he’s in a good condition, the minister said. — Lee

3:25 pm: Etihad Airways denies asking cabin crew to take paid leave 

United Arab Emirates’ Etihad Airways denied that it sent an email asking cabin crew to take paid leave between Apr. 6 and May 5.

Reuters reported that the airline made such a request in an internal email that the news agency saw. The email didn’t give a reason for the request, according to Reuters. — Lee

3:05 pm: Plunge in China’s services activity

China’s services sector had its worst month on record in February, according to a survey. 

The Caixin/Markit services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) plunged to 26.5 last month from January’s 51.8. A level above 50 indicates expansion, while below represents contraction. The February reading was the first time the indicator had dropped below 50 since the survey began almost 15 years ago in late 2005. — Lee

1:40 pm: Central banks have ‘far less ammunition’ to save the global economy

Central banks around the world, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, have lowered interest rates to support their respective economies amid a rapidly spreading coronavirus — and more are expected to follow suit.

But investors and economists said there’s not much monetary policy can do to save the global economy, especially when some major central banks — such as the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan — have already cut interest rates into the negative territory.

“The fact is, we’re coming into this crisis with far less ammunition globally. It’s not just Europe or Japan, even in China they have much less ammunition than the last time they had to launch a stimulus package,” Alex Wolf, J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s head of investment strategy in Asia, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.” — Lee

12:45 pm: China’s giants from Alibaba to Tencent ramp up health tech efforts

12:08 pm: Facebook is giving free ads to the WHO and taking down ‘conspiracy theories’

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that the social network will give the World Health Organization free advertising for its coronavirus response and take down false claims about the virus.

Users who search for coronavirus on Facebook, will see a pop-up that directs them to the WHO or local health authority for the latest information on the outbreak. Those in a country where the WHO has reported person-to-person transmission, will see see that information in their News Feed.

In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said that the WHO will get free ads and the social network will give “millions more in ad credits” to other organizations too.

The Facebook founder also said the company will remove “false claims and conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organizations.”

“We’re also blocking people from running ads that try to exploit the situation — for example, claiming that their product can cure the disease,” he added. — Kharpal

11:43 am: 2 out of China’s 119 new cases traveled from Iran, Italy

Out of the four new confirmed virus cases reported for Tuesday in mainland China outside of Hubei province, three came from Beijing city and one from Ningxia.

One of the cases in Beijing was a traveler from Iran, and another from Italy, the government said. The case in Ningxia was a suspected case that became a confirmed case, authorities said. — Cheng

10:43 am: NBC News Exit Poll finds US primary voters concerned about coronavirus support Biden

Just over half of Democratic primary voters in California, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia said the coronavirus outbreak was an important factor in their vote, according to NBC News Exit Poll. Of those respondents, nearly half (47%) said they preferred former Vice President Joe Biden, followed by 29% who support Bernie Sanders. — Wang

10:18 am: NBA postpones start of Basketball Africa League

9:54 am: Amazon employee based in Seattle tests positive

Amazon said an employee who works in one of its Seattle, Washington offices tested positive for the coronavirus.

″We’re supporting the affected employee who is in quarantine,” the company told CNBC. “The employee is based out of Amazon’s Brazil office building in Seattle, WA.”

It’s not immediately clear if the person had been in the office in recent days or had traveled internationally recently. — Haselton, Reed

9:45 am: China confirms 119 more cases and additional 38 deaths

China’s National Health Commission confirmed an additional 119 cases and 38 deaths as of the end of Tuesday.

So far, a total of 80,270 people have been infected, with 49,856 people discharged and 2,981 dead in China, according to government figures. — Wang

9:16 am: South Korea confirms 516 new cases, 4 additional deaths

New cases in South Korea climbed by 516 as of Wednesday morning, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency also confirmed four additional deaths.

Those latest figures bring South Korea’s total confirmed cases to 5,328 as the death toll climbed to 32, according to KCDC data.

So far, about three quarters of the country’s cases are in South Korea’s fourth-largest city Daegu. Many of those have been traced back to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. — Wang

9:02 am: Hong Kong business activity plunges to record low

The coronavirus outbreak has had a “severe impact” on Hong Kong’s private sector, IHS Markit said in its latest release of its Hong Kong Purchasing Manager’s Index. The index hit a record low of 33.1 in February as “business conditions deteriorated at the steepest pace since the survey began in July 1998.”

“Measures taken in response to the Covid-19 situation and general fear of being infected saw business activity and new sales sinking at a record pace in an economy that has been beset earlier by political protests and US-China trade war tensions,” Bernard Aw, principal economist at IHS Markit, said in a statement. — Wang

8:29 am: New Zealand confirms second case

New Zealand’s health ministry confirmed a woman in her 30s who recently returned to Auckland from northern Italy has the coronavirus — the country’s second case. It said, however, the woman “doesn’t require hospital level care.”

New Zealand said the woman is self-isolated at home with “appropriate clinical support,” a protocol it said is an “appropriate response for people with mild to moderate symptoms.” The ministry maintained that “with continued vigilance the chance of widespread community outbreak is expected to remain low.” — Wang

A general view of passengers arriving at Auckland International Airport on February 5, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Michael Ng | Getty Images

8:17 am: Hong Kong cuts rate

Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut its base rate by 50 basis points to 1.5%. That move follows the U.S. Federal Reserve’s surprise emergency rate cut. The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the greenback.

The U.S. central bank said in a statement, “The coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity.” — Wang

All times below are in Eastern time.

6:32 pm: Berkeley, California reports first case, declares emergency

A resident of Berkeley, California, tested positive for the virus — the college town’s first confirmed case, local health officials said. City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley proclaimed a local emergency, giving the city access to more resources to help contain any local cases. “While the risk of infection remains low, the expanded presence of the virus in our community is a reality we should all prepare for,” City of Berkeley Health Officer Dr. Lisa Hernandez said in a statement. —Kopecki

5:57 pm: Regeneron CEO hopes to have coronavirus vaccine ready for human testing possibly by this summer

4:53 pm: World Bank approves $12 billion in emergency financing to help poor nations

The World Bank approved $12 billion in emergency financing to help poor nations with the health costs and economic impact of the outbreak, the organization said. “We are working to provide a fast, flexible response based on developing country needs in dealing with the spread of COVID-19,” World Bank Group President David Malpass said in a statement. The money is intended to help the poorest and most at-risk nations fight the virus, which has spread to at least 74 countries across the globe, and will be used to provide emergency financing, technical assistance and policy advice. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank said on Monday they stood ready to help member countries deal with the coronavirus outbreak, including through emergency funding. — Kopecki

Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: U.S. death toll hits 9 as mortality rate of COVID-19 rises

— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal, Evelyn Cheng, Jabari Young, Todd Haselton, J.R. Reed, Dawn Kopecki and Kevin Stankiewicz contributed to this report.

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