Mainland China reports 19 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on March 9 vs 40 on March 8

Mainland China (MC) reports 19 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on March 9 vs 40 on March 8, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday, down from 40 cases a day earlier.

That brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 80,754. The death toll from the outbreak in China reached 3,136 as of the end of Monday, up by 17 from the previous day. The central province of Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 17 new deaths, all of which were in the provincial capital of Wuhan.

Key notes

• MC reports 17 new coronavirus deaths on march 9 vs 22 on March 8.
• MC total number of confirmed coronavirus cases hits 80,754 as of end-March 9.
• MC's total number of coronavirus deaths reaches 3,136 as of end-March 9.
• China's Hubei province, the epicentre of coronavirus outbreak, reports 17 new deaths on march 9 vs 21 on March 8.
• Death toll from coronavirus outbreak in China's Hubei at 3,024 as of end-march 9.

FX implications

Improvements in the data are encouraging for other nations now facing epidemics but there is a long road ahead of financial markets in the coronavirus saga. The yen is a keen focus currently carrying a safe-haven bid and the euro will be the markets attention drainer leading into the Europan Central Bank this week, with a weak eurozone economy now suffering an expensive single currency.