Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
World Braces For Global Economic Toll Coronavirus Will Likely Take
As China struggles to contain the deadly new coronavirus, it’s becoming increasingly evident that the disruption to its economy will spill over to the rest of the world. Provinces accounting for almost 69% of Chinese GDP will remain closed for more than an extra week after the annual Lunar New Year holiday, shutting factories, shops and restaurants, leaving ships trapped at port, and slamming household spending. Travel restrictions limit the movement of more than 48 million people, with the crucial manufacturing and logistics hub of Wuhan—the epicenter of the virus—most impacted. (Dormido and Leung, 2/5)
The last time the aviation industry faced this kind of crisis was back in 2003, when the SARS outbreak cost Asia Pacific carriers $6 billion in revenue, according to the International Air Transport Authority (IATA). North American airlines lost $1 billion, while European carriers largely escaped unscathed, analysts say. It took nine months before international passenger traffic returned to normal, IATA said. The coronavirus will "definitely" surpass that $7 billion SARS hit, said Ivan Su, an analyst with financial services firm Morningstar. (Pham, 2/5)
The spread of novel coronavirus in China has focused great attention on public health in that country and around the world. But the outbreak is also having a major economic impact, with quarantines imposed, flights suspended and factories shuttered. William Brangham reports and talks to The Washington Post’s David Lynch about the outbreak’s implications for the global supply chain and more. (2/4)
White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Tuesday said that he thinks the novel coronavirus will have a minimal impact on the U.S. economy. "Our estimates are minimal impact. The world is not in Wuhan province,"Â Kudlow said in an interview with Fox Business Network. He estimated the outbreak could cost the economy 0.2 percent in the first quarter and potentially another 0.2 percent later on.China's latest figures on the virus estimated that 20,000 people had been infected, and 425 people had died from it. But while Kudlow predicted that the virus would not be "catastrophic" for the U.S. economy, he said it could dampen a promised rise in exports to China resulting from last month's "Phase One" trade deal. (Elis, 2/4)
