New Coronavirus Deaths Surpass SARS... Helpless Despite Full-Scale Response (Comprehensive)

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Sunmi Park] The death toll from the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) in China has risen to a total of 361. This surpasses the number during the 2003 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak, and despite the government's all-out response, there are no signs of the situation calming down. The Chinese financial market fluctuated, reflecting the unstable situation.

◆Confirmed cases 17,205, deaths 361= On the 3rd, the National Health Commission of China (NHC) announced that as of midnight, 2,829 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 57 new deaths were reported across China. Among the 57 deaths, 56 occurred in Hubei Province, which includes Wuhan City, the origin of the novel coronavirus.

On a cumulative basis, the number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases across China reached 17,205. Among them, 2,296 are severe cases, indicating a high possibility that the death toll will continue to rise.

The cumulative death toll was recorded at 361. At this rate, it is expected that the death toll could surpass 400 by tomorrow. During the SARS outbreak, there were about 5,327 confirmed cases and 349 deaths in mainland China, but the current situation in China has far exceeded both the number of confirmed cases and deaths compared to SARS.

So far, 475 patients have fully recovered and been discharged. The number of suspected infection cases recorded is 21,558. The number of close contacts with patients is 189,583, of which 152,700 are currently under medical observation. Outside mainland China, in the Greater China region, there have been a total of 33 confirmed cases: 15 in Hong Kong, 8 in Macau, and 10 in Taiwan.

Zhong Nanshan, China's top authority on respiratory diseases, stated, "The epidemic situation across China is still in the rising phase," and warned, "There is a possibility of localized outbreaks." He predicted that the novel coronavirus spread would reach its peak over the next two weeks.

◆All-out response across sectors= In response to the spread of the novel coronavirus, China is making an all-out effort day after day. In Wuhan, Hubei Province, where the spread is most severe, Huoshenshan (Fire God Mountain) Hospital began full operation today and started accepting patients.

Huoshenshan Hospital, which began construction on January 23, was completed in just ten days with a capacity of 1,000 beds. The total area is 33,940 square meters, and inside, it is equipped with intensive care units, outpatient clinics, medical support departments, negative pressure wards, a central supply warehouse, and a temporary medical waste storage facility. Huoshenshan Hospital has been staffed with 1,400 medical personnel selected from the People's Liberation Army. They have experience treating and eradicating SARS patients at specialized hospitals in Beijing during the SARS outbreak.

In Huanggang, near Wuhan City, a "stay-at-home order" has been issued. Every household in Huanggang is allowed to send only one person outside every two days to purchase daily necessities. Wenzhou City in Zhejiang Province has also issued a similar stay-at-home order as Huanggang City.

The People's Bank of China injected liquidity of 1.2 trillion yuan (approximately 205 trillion won) into the market through open market operations on this day. The People's Bank explained that the liquidity injection policy, announced late the previous night, is a measure to provide reasonable and sufficient liquidity during this special period requiring prevention and control of the novel coronavirus and to ensure the stable operation of the financial market.

The People's Bank added, "With this liquidity injection, the total liquidity in the banking system will be 900 billion yuan more than the same period last year." However, Bloomberg assessed that considering the Chinese financial market situation where short-term funds exceeding 1 trillion yuan are maturing, the liquidity increase effect from this measure by the People's Bank is limited to about 150 billion yuan.

China's securities authorities have entered an emergency system.

Since the Chinese stock market, which had been closed since January 24 for the Lunar New Year holiday, reopened on this day, there is a growing possibility that the market shock during the closure period will be reflected more severely over time. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) stated through the Communist Party's official newspaper, People's Daily, that "the impact of this virus on the stock market is short-term," but also said, "We will strengthen vigilance against abnormal signals," indicating their preparedness.

To minimize market shocks, short selling has been banned in the securities industry. According to sources, the CSRC verbally instructed major securities firms and investment banks, including Zhongxin Securities and China International Capital Corporation (CICC), to ban short selling starting from this day.

The CSRC is also considering disclosing risk-hedging measures that can offset the current market panic situation. The evening trading session in the futures market, scheduled to start from this day, is planned to be suspended for the time being.

◆Financial market turmoil... stock market opens with a plunge= The Chinese stock market, which had been closed since January 24 due to the Lunar New Year holiday, opened on the 3rd with a plunge of over 8%, directly reflecting the shock from the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia).

This is evidence that the government's emergency liquidity injection and short selling ban measures are not effective against the fear of the epidemic spread. Reflecting the situation in China, stock markets in neighboring countries, including Japan, also plunged one after another, turning on a "red light" for global stock markets.

On this day, the Shanghai Composite Index opened at 2,716.7, down 8.73% from the previous trading day. The Shenzhen Composite Index also recorded a 9% drop in early trading, standing at 1,598.80. The plunge in the Chinese stock market is affecting stock markets in nearby Asian regions as well. The Japanese stock market opened with both the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices down 1.4%, and the KOSPI opened at 2,086.61, down 32.40 points (1.53%) from the previous session. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index is also declining.

On this day, the Chinese yuan's value was devalued against the dollar, reflecting market instability. The official exchange rate was set at 6.9249 yuan, up 0.54% from the previous trading day. In the foreign exchange market, the exchange rate briefly surpassed 7 yuan. The plunge in the Chinese stock market and the depreciation of the yuan indicate a capital outflow atmosphere due to the spread of the novel coronavirus in China, suggesting that this vicious cycle may continue for some time.

The sharp market shock stems from concerns about the Chinese economy caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus. Economists diagnose that due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, China's growth rate, which was 6% in the fourth quarter of last year, will fall to the 4% range in the first quarter of this year, and if the virus spread does not subside, the growth rate slowdown may continue into the second quarter.

Although the Chinese central bank has taken measures such as injecting liquidity and banning short selling in the securities industry to minimize financial market shocks, it is insufficient to defend against the selling pressure caused by weakened investor sentiment. There are opinions that the Chinese government's measures to prevent the stock market crash will be overwhelmed. During the Shanghai stock market crash in 2015-2016, the Chinese government injected 1.5 trillion yuan of stock market support funds into the financial market, but the market capitalization dropped by 32% in just 18 trading days.

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