A Chinese woman wears a protective mask as she walks in a nearly empty and shuttered commercial street on February 7, 2020 in Beijing, China.
Kevin Frayer | Getty Images
This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.
All times below are in Beijing time.
2:56 pm: Thailand reports 7 new cases
Thailand’s health ministry confirmed seven additional cases of the new coronavirus, according to a Reuters report. The cases include three Thais and four Chinese, the report said.
Reuters reported that Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said one of the Thais was a person who had been evacuated from Wuhan, while the other two had been exposed to tourists.
1:46 pm: US citizen dies in Wuhan
A U.S. citizen diagnosed with the new coronavirus died in Wuhan, China on Thursday, the U.S. embassy said in a statement.
“We can confirm a 60-year old U.S. citizen diagnosed with coronavirus died at Jinyintian Hospital in Wuhan, China on February 6. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss. Out of the respect for the family’s privacy, we have no further comment,” it said.
It is the first known American death in an outbreak of a new coronavirus. Wuhan is the center of the outbreak and the capital of Hubei province, where most deaths and confirmed cases are located. —Wang
12:52 pm: Singaporean supermarket operator calls for calm as people buy up essential items
Singaporean supermarket operator NTUC FairPrice said it has seen an uptick in traffic volume as people buy up household essentials. After Singapore raised its virus alert level, images began to surface online of long lines and some empty shelves at supermarkets around the city-state.
On Friday, the company said, “Several stores throughout the island experienced high traffic volume today where items like toilet paper, instant noodles and vegetables were emptied from the shelves.”
FairPrice Group CEO Seah Kian Peng said in a statement there’s no need to stockpile and called for calm, “There are available stocks in our warehouses and we are looking to send them to our stores expeditiously.”
The company also said it is ramping up its cleaning regimen and making hand sanitizers available for in-store customer use. —Wang
12:34 pm: Hong Kong government agencies temporarily pare back operations
On Saturday, many Hong Kong government agencies announced they would temporarily scale down office hours and services, citing efforts to limit spread of the new coronavirus. Most adjustments will take effect Monday as agencies try to continue basic, if limited, operations. The Inland Revenue Service and Labour Department are among the agencies that have announced special arrangements.
The Judiciary said all hearings that had been scheduled from Feb. 10 to Feb. 16 will be generally adjourned until a date that has not been set. It said, however, the courts will continue to handle “urgent and essential” matters. —Wang
11:58 am: Tesla to resume China factory on Feb. 10, Shanghai official says
A Shanghai municipal spokesman said Tesla will resume production at its factory in the city on Feb. 10, according to a Reuters report. The news agency reported that the spokesman said authorities will give full assistance to key manufacturers like Tesla to help the resume work as quickly as possible.
10:40 am: Singapore trade minister says there’s no need for panic buying
There’s no need for citizens to panic buy household items, Singapore’s trade minister Chan Chun Sing said in a Facebook post. He said the ministry is “close contact with our retailers and I assure all Singaporeans that there is no need to rush for essential supplies like rice or instant noodles.”
“Our supply lines for these essentials are intact and there is no risk of us running a shortage of essential food or household items. We also have our national stockpile for essential items,” Chan said.
He also asked people to refrain from hoarding unnecessarily, saying “This will create undue panic and is unhelpful to the situation at hand.” —Wang
10:16 am: Japan says 3 more people who were on cruise ship test positive
Japan’s health ministry confirmed that another three people have tested positive for the new coronavirus. The government said the total cases found on the Diamond Princess cruise ship is now 64, out of 279 people tested for the virus.
Kyodo News reported, citing the health ministry, that the three new cases include two Americans and one Chinese national. —Wang
UPDATE: This entry has been updated with the latest information from Japan’s health ministry.
10:08 am: Toyota to extend plant closures in China
Toyota Motor confirmed to CNBC it plans to extend the shutdown of its plants in China for at least another week, however it is preparing to restart production after that.
“The safety and security of our team members, suppliers and stakeholders continues to be our top priority,” the company said in an emailed statement. “For the week of Feb. 10, all plants in China will start preparing to resume operations from the following week and beyond. We will continue to evaluate the situation.”
Toyota, according to China newspaper Nikkei, which first reported the extension, had planned to restart operations at its four Chinese plants as early as Feb. 10. —Wayland
8:30 am: Lockheed Martin drops out of Singapore Airshow
Reuters reported that U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin said it will not attend the Singapore Airshow, citing the city-state’s recently raised health alert.
On Friday, Singapore’s authorities raised its virus alert level to orange, up from yellow, as new cases show the deadly pneumonia-like virus spreading. It is the same alert level as the one declared during the SARS outbreak of 2003. It is one below the highest alert level of red, which would indicate the virus is spreading widely. —Wang and Meredith with Reuters
8:20 am: China reports 86 additional deaths and 3,399 new confirmed cases
China’s National Health Commission said there were an additional 86 deaths and 3,399 new confirmed cases in the country as of the end of Friday. That brings the total cases in mainland China to 34,546 as the death toll rises to 722, the government said. —Wang
6:30 am: Pace of new cases in China’s Hubei picks up again
The number of deaths in China’s central Hubei province from a coronavirus outbreak had risen by 81 to 699, the province’s health commission said in a statement on its website. There had been a further 2,841 cases detected in Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, taking the total in the province to 24,953. The World Health Organization earlier said it was encouraged by a slowing pace of new cases over the past two days, however, this latest data reverses that trend. —Cheddar Berk with Reuters
All times below are in Eastern time.
5:24 pm: Yardeni says epidemic could trigger market correction
Yardeni Research President Edward Yardeni said the U.S. economy was showing signs of improvement before the deadly pneumonia-like virus started making headlines. The longer this situation persists the more likely the event could weigh on stocks, possibly sparking a correction, Yardeni said. He said he would keep new cash on the sidelines until there is more clarity around the spread of the illness. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 277.26 points lower, or nearly 1%, to 29,102.51. The S&P 500 dipped 0.5% to 3,327.71. The Nasdaq Composite also slid 0.5% to close at 9,520.51. Those losses snapped a four-day winning streak for the major average. —Cheddar Berk, Imbert
4:51 pm: Norwegian Cruises bans Chinese-passport holders, passengers who traveled to China within 30 days
Norwegian Cruises imposed the strictest measures yet to prevent coronavirus. It said, “Any guest that holds a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, will be unable to board any of our ships, regardless of residency.” The company also announced that anyone who has traveled to mainland China or even visited an airport in the country in the 30 days prior to their cruise departure will not be allowed on the ship. The decision comes as several cruise ships around the world endure coronavirus outbreaks and scares. — Feuer
Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: The Federal Reserve flags coronavirus threat; cruise line bans Chinese nationals
— CNBC’s Christina Cheddar Berk, Fred Imbert, William Feuer, Riya Bhattacharjee, Sam Meredith and Mike Wayland contributed to this report, as well as Reuters.
