Wuhan-Pneumonia pandemic control centre set up to prevent spread of virus

Wuhan, the source of the virus, has set up a WuhanPneumonia control centre to prevent the further spread of the disease.

The global times is reporting that Wuhan has ordered stronger supervision of markets and public transportation hubs and encouraged the cancellation of unnecessary public gatherings, vowing to release timely updates.

In earlier news, the Financial Times was reporting that authorities said 224 patients with the coronavirus had been identified. The FT also reported that the world heath organization will meet to discuss whether this is an international health emergency.

The BBC reported that "the outbreak has revived memories of the Sars virus - also a coronavirus - that killed 774 people in the early 2000s across dozens of countries, mostly in Asia. Analysis of the genetic code of the new virus shows it is more closely related to Sars than any other human coronavirus."

Experts in the UK told the BBC the number of people infected could still be far greater than official figures suggest, with estimates closer to 1,700.

Market implications

While this is not likely to impact the markets too much (gold and yen up slihtly), at this sage, it is being watched for the risk of spreading and possible disruption to the economic outlook for China.

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