Coronavirus live updates: US hospitals prepare for possible pandemic, Air France tallies ‘brutal’ impact from outbreak

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

All times below are in Eastern time.

  • Total confirmed cases: More than 75,700
  • Total deaths: At least 2,130

9:36 am: P&G grapples with supply chain issues in China

Procter & Gamble, the maker of everyday household goods like Pampers diapers and Gillette razors, is continuing to grapple with problems getting materials from suppliers and its good delivered to customers in China, its second-largest market outside the U.S.  The company’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller said at a conference in Boca Raton, Florida that store traffic in China has fallen “considerably.” Although some demand has shifted to online sales, there are hurdles to fulfilling those orders, like the number of delivery people, Moeller said. P&G also relies on 387 Chinese suppliers, who provide materials for more than 17,000 finished products sold globally. Although the consumer giant expects to be “materially impacted” by the outbreak in its second-largest market, Moeller reaffirmed the company’s forecasted ranges for its revenue and earnings for fiscal 2020. — Lucas

8:22 am: US hospitals prepare for virus to become global pandemic

The CDC has been working with the health-care sector to prepare for a possible pandemic outbreak in the United States. The coronavirus threat comes at an already busy time for most U.S. hospitals. Another serious respiratory illness, the seasonal flu, is at its peak, with more than 26 million cases and many hospitals stretched thin. A larger spread of the new virus across the U.S. could overwhelm emergency rooms and quickly cause supply shortages of some crucial medical supplies, according to half a dozen interviews with doctors, U.S. hospitals and health systems. — Lovelace

7:33 am: Maersk warns outbreak to hit 2020 earnings

Shipping giant Maersk warned that the coronavirus outbreak would weigh on earnings this year, compounding the woes of a container shipping industry already hit by trade wars and an economic slowdown. The Danish company on Thursday reported a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and forecast a weak start to the year because factories in China were closed for longer than usual after the Lunar New Year holiday. “Weekly container vessel calls at key Chinese ports were significantly down compared to last year during the last weeks of January and the first weeks of February,” the world’s biggest container shipping firm said in a statement. It reiterated, however, a forecast for growth in global container demand of 1% to 3% this year, saying Chief Executive Soren Skou remained optimistic about a rebound in the second quarter. Global container demand grew 1.4% in 2019 and 3.8% the year before. — Reuters

7 am: Air France says coronavirus impact could climb above $200 million

Air France-KLM warned of a 150 million to 200 million euro ($162 million to $216 million) hit to earnings by April as it contends with the epidemic’s “brutal” impact on the airline industry. The Franco-Dutch group’s shares fell sharply after its full-year results and 2020 outlook, which was in the spotlight as markets watch for economic effects well beyond the Asian center of the outbreak. Like many global airlines, Air France-KLM has canceled flights to mainland China until the end of March, basing its impact estimate on the assumption that flights will then gradually resume. “That’s the hypothesis we’re using for the moment, but we don’t know how credible it is,” Chief Financial Officer Frederic Gagey said. “Obviously if it lasts longer, the impact will be heavier.” — Reuters

The Air France-KLM Group logo sits on revolving doors at airline’s headquarters in Roissy, France, on Thursday, Feb. 20. 2020. Air France-KLM warned the coronavirus outbreak will wipe as much as 200 million euros ($216 million) from earnings, hammering home the financial impact of the crisis even thousands of miles from its epicenter in China.

Marlene Awaad| Bloomberg | Getty Images

6:06 am: Apple iPhone maker Foxconn says it will cautiously restart production in China

Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics and the biggest assembler of Apple products, said Thursday it is cautiously restarting production at its main plants in China, Reuters reported, but it warned revenue will be hurt this year by the coronavirus epidemic.

5:15 am: China’s Hubei province asks firms not to resume work before March 11 due to coronavirus

China’s Hubei province has asked firms not to resume work before March 11 due to the outbreak, although those involved in epidemic prevention and control and public utilities are exempt. The suspension of work for many firms was due to end on Wednesday. In a statement on its official Weibo account, the province said schools are not to reopen until further notice. — Ellyatt

3:22 am: South Korea reports first death from the coronavirus

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