Coronavirus Reaches All Chinese Regions As Infections Overtake SARS

Topline: The coronavirus outbreak that began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan has now spread to all regions in the country, with at least 170 people dead and nearly 8,000 infected worldwide—mostly in China.

• That means the illness, formally known as 2019-nCoV, has surpassed the number of SARS infections in China during the 2003 outbreak in which 5,327 people fell ill with the respiratory disease.
• A case of the current pneumonia-like virus was reported in Tibet, meaning all regions of China have been touched by it. All deaths from the disease have occurred in China, where the outbreak is concentrated.
• A handful of cases are spread across 18 other countries in Europe, North America, Asia, Australasia and the Middle East, with the first case in India confirmed on Thursday.
• More airlines have canceled flights to China. On Wednesday, Air Canada and KLM suspended flights to some Chinese cities, while British Airways canceled flights to mainland China for a month.
• Global markets are down as investors react to the fast-spreading illness. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has dropped 6% this month, while Brent crude also hit a 2020 low, falling to $58.86 a barrel. 
• Nearly 60 million people are now under lockdown across the worst affected cities in China. Russia closed its border with China to prevent the spread of the virus.

Evacuations in numbers:
The U.S has successfully airlifted 200 citizens to the U.S. who are being voluntarily quarantined for three days at March Air Base in Riverside, California.

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