Seoul National University Hospital medical team exercise for COVID19 mild virus case before patient arrives at Seoul National University Hospital Mild Virus care center in Mungyeong, Northern Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, on March 4, 2020.
Seung-il Ryu | NurPhoto | Getty Images
- Global cases: At least 93,000, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization
- Global deaths: At least 3,199, 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.
7:56 am: Moody’s says challenges ahead for Chinese regional and local governments
China’s regional and local governments (RLG) will face significant funding shortfalls this year as the virus outbreak is set to further pressure already slowing revenue growth, Moody’s Investors Service said in a new report.
“We expect the coronavirus outbreak will result in lower RLG revenue growth, although policy measures by the central government should support RLGs through higher transfers and bond quotas,” Jack Yuan, an assistant vice president and analyst at the firm said.
Most Chinese provinces have lowered their GDP growth targets for 2020, the ratings agency said. — Roy Choudhury
7:31 am: Australia expects a 0.5 percentage point hit to Q1 GDP
Australia’s Treasury Department predicted the virus outbreak will shave at least 0.5 percentage point off economic growth in the three months ending in March, Reuters reported. The preliminary estimate took into account the impact on tourism, international education exports, and some exchange-rate effects, but did not account for any supply-chain disruptions or broad impacts, the news wire said.
That appeared to be in line with the central bank’s prediction for a noticeably weaker Q1 growth. Earlier this week, the Reserve Bank of Australia slashed its cash rate to 0.5% and Governor Philip Lowe said the coronavirus outbreak “is having a significant effect on the Australian economy at present, particularly in the education and travel sectors.” — Roy Choudhury
All times below are in Eastern time.
5:15 pm: DHS employee tests positive for coronavirus
A Department of Homeland Security employee has tested positive for the coronavirus, DHS press secretary Heather Swift said in a statement Wednesday. “Late last night, DHS headquarters was alerted to a situation where one of our contracted medical professionals conducting screenings at LAX international airport had tested positive for COVID-19,” the statement said. “This individual is currently under self-quarantine at home with mild symptoms and under medical supervision. Their immediate family is also under home quarantine.” — Bhattacharjee
5 pm: NIH official questioned about WHO mortality rate
NIH official Dr. Anthony Fauci told lawmakers the mortality rate for COVID-19 could change depending on how many people ultimately fall ill and die from the virus. World health officials said Tuesday that the current mortality rate was around 3.4%, significantly higher than previous estimates. “As a group, it’s going to depend completely on what the factor of asymptomatic cases are,” he said, adding the more asympotmatic cases, the lower the mortality rate. “What we’re hearing right now on a recent call from the WHO this morning is that there aren’t as many asymptomatic cases as we think, which made them elevate, I think, what their mortality is,” he said. “I’m torn. If we get enough data to have a big [numerator] it’s gonna be bad news for us.” — Hirsch, Higgins
4:53 pm: House passes $8.3 billion emergency spending plan
The House passed a sweeping bill allocating more than $8 billion in emergency funds to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The funding package, which provides more than $3 billion in vaccine research and $2.2 billion in prevention and preparedness efforts, was unveiled hours earlier following days of negotiations on Capitol Hill.
The emergency coronavirus bill will head to the Senate, where leaders there hope they can quickly bring it to a vote. If the bill passes that chamber, it will move to the Oval Office desk of President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it. — Breuninger
Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: House passes emergency spending, United slashes flights
— CNBC’s Riya Bhattacharjee, Kevin Breuninger, Lauren Hirsch, and Tucker Higgins contributed to this report.