Beyond Asia, the US Also Hit... US Stock Market Panics as Wuhan Pneumonia Arrives

30s Male Confirmed After Visiting Wuhan
Record High Streak Ends as US Stock Market Turns Down
Global Consumption and Domestic Demand Inevitably Hit by Virus Outbreak

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The Wuhan pneumonia has landed in the United States, crossing Asia. There is growing fear that the novel coronavirus, which originated in China, is spreading worldwide as it enters the U.S. via travelers.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially announced on the 21st (local time) that a man in his 30s near Seattle, Washington, who had traveled to Wuhan, China, was infected with the novel coronavirus.

The infected individual is currently receiving isolated treatment and is reported to be in relatively good condition. Health authorities stated that the possibility of transmission to medical staff and others is low.

The patient showed no particular symptoms upon arrival at Seattle-Tacoma Airport on the 15th but later experienced abnormal symptoms and voluntarily underwent testing on the 18th, which confirmed the infection. The CDC announced that it has developed a new testing method to detect the novel coronavirus infection.

U.S. authorities had strengthened quarantine measures at airports in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco since last week to identify Wuhan pneumonia cases, but ultimately failed to prevent the virus from crossing the border. This was because the first patient arrived in the U.S. before the quarantine measures were enhanced, evading the surveillance net.

From this day, the U.S. authorities have also activated monitoring systems at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, and it is reported that quarantine procedures will be strengthened at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport within this week. Additionally, travelers departing from the Wuhan area and entering the U.S. will be required to enter only through five airports where quarantine procedures are conducted.

The Wuhan pneumonia also negatively affected the U.S. stock market. On the 21st, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 29,196.24, down 151.86 points (0.52%) from the previous trading day. The S&P 500 index fell 8.95 points (0.27%) to 3,320.67. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index also dropped 7.11 points (0.08%) to 9,166.63. Although the U.S. stock market had reached record highs until last week, it lost momentum due to the Wuhan pneumonia. This is because concerns about the economic damage caused by the virus outbreak are significant.

There are also forecasts that the real economy will be negatively impacted. According to a research paper by Professor Victoria Fan of Harvard University, published by the World Bank last year, the annual global economic loss due to the risk of epidemic viruses is estimated at about $500 billion (approximately 585 trillion KRW). This amounts to 0.6% of the world's income. The report particularly pointed out that developing countries suffer more severe economic damage from viruses. Low-income countries could lose more than 50% of their total national income.

In a paper by Professor Warwick McKibbin of the Australian National University, it was also revealed that the global economic loss due to the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak reached $40 billion (approximately 47 trillion KRW).

Robert Carnell, ING Group's Chief Economist for Asia-Pacific, explained, "When a global virus outbreak occurs, the impact on domestic economies and consumption is significant."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.