Coronavirus live updates: US confirms 15th case among Wuhan evacuees in Texas, global cases soar above 60,300

FAN Editor

A man pushes a man on wheelchair past a propaganda banner on a wall in a hutong, following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country, in Beijing, China February 11, 2020. The Chinese characters on the banner read, “Strengthen self-protection, do not panic, believe in science, do not spread rumours”.

Tingshu Wang | Reuters

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

All times below are in Eastern time.

Total confirmed cases: More than 60,300
Total deaths: At least 1,369

12:07 am: 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

11:35 am: WHO officials scramble to measure size of coronavirus epidemic: ‘How big is the iceberg?’

World health officials are scrambling to determine just how widespread the new coronavirus is as Chinese authorities reported a surge in new cases overnight after changing how it counts confirmed infections. “How big is the iceberg?” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s emergencies program, said at a news conference at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva. “We do know, and we all accept, that there is transmission occurring at some level in communities,” he said. “We’ve all seen those clusters, we’ve all seen those super spreading events. The question is how much is happening outside what we see?” — 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

9:51 am: WHO officials hold press conference on outbreak

World Health Organization officials are holding a press conference at 10 a.m. ET to update the public on the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more people than the 2003 SARS epidemic. As of Thursday, more than 60,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in over two dozen countries, resulting in least 1,300 deaths almost exclusively in China. The WHO declared the virus a global health emergency last month, a rare designation that helps the international agency mobilize financial and political support to contain the outbreak. The number of new cases appeared to be stabilizing until Thursday, when a change in how China defines cases led to a spike in confirmed cases in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak. Watch the live press conference here. — Feuer

Medical staff receive a patient infected with the novel coronavirus at the temporary hospital converted from Wuhan Sports Center in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, Feb. 12, 2020.

Xiao Yijiu | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

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

8:59 am: HSBC cuts China economic growth forecast on coronavirus impact

HSBC said it’s lowered its first-quarter forecast for mainland China’s economic growth to 4.1% year-on-year from 5.8% due to the fallout from coronavirus. The bank also cut its China full-year growth forecast to 5.3% from 5.8%, adding the impact was already starting to be felt in tourism, trade, supply chains and elsewhere. HSBC lowered its full-year estimate for global growth to 2.3% from 2.5%, adding it expected the brunt of the impact in the first quarter, with some improvement as the year progresses. — Reuters

7:58 am: NYC small business chief: Chinatown hit hard because of fears over coronavirus

Small businesses located in New York’s Chinatown are losing customers over unsubstantiated fears of coronavirus, the city’s small business chief told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “Business owners are telling us revenues are down 40% in Chinatown,” said Gregg Bishop, commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services. “And it’s unfounded.” The city on Wednesday confirmed that the seven people suspected of having the virus in the city tested negative. –Bursztynsky

7:02 am: Princess Cruises says passengers can leave ship for quarantine in Japan as cases climb by 44

Japanese health officials are planning to move guests aboard a Princess Cruises ship to quarantine facilities in Japan as they confirm an additional 44 cases aboard the ship, the company said. Princess Cruises was told the “most medically vulnerable” guests will move in the first phase, including older adults with preexisting conditions. Japanese health officials will test guests before they disembark and transfer them to local hospitals if they are positive. Guests who are otherwise healthy will be transferred to a quarantine facility or can remain on board through the end of the quarantine period, the company said. The 44 new cases aboard the ship bring the total number of confirmed COVID-19 infections to almost 220, making it the single biggest concentration of cases outside of China. — Kopecki

6:03 pm: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi warns of first-quarter smartphone hit

The chief executive of smartphone maker Xiaomi said the the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak could impact first-quarter sales, but CEO Lei Jun said Thursday he believes demand will bounce back in the second and third quarters. “Due to the outbreak of (the) virus, this year’s first-quarter smartphone sales will face an impact, but we believe that in the second and third quarters they will strike back. Overall, the impact might not be that serious,” the CEO said, according to a translation of his comments from the company provided to CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal.

5:48 pm: Japan will spend 10.3 billion yen ($93.9 million) to fight the coronavirus, Abe says

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday the Cabinet will decide on Friday to spend 10.3 billion yen from the country’s budget to respond to the coronavirus, Reuters reported. Steps to tackle the outbreak will total 15.3 billion yen, he added after a task force meeting.

5:26 pm: Travel slump spreads from China to Asia-Pacific region, data shows

The coronavirus is causing travel demand to slump across the whole Asia-Pacific region, according to data released by travel analytics firm ForwardKeys on Thursday, with the region seeing a 10.5% slowdown in outbound travel bookings for March and April, excluding trips to and from China and Hong Kong. As of Feb. 9, the setback looks likely to be most marked in northeast Asia, where outbound bookings for March and April are 17.1% behind where they were at the same time last year.

Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific team overnight here: China confirms 15,152 new cases, 254 additional deaths

Reuters and CNBC’s Jessica Bursztynsky, Holly Ellyatt, Weizhen Tan and Christine Wang contributed to this article.

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