Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan, the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak today, the first time he has done so since the epidemic began to spread, signaling that Beijing believes its efforts to control the epidemic are at a turning point, as the number of new cases tumbles.
On the other hand, Asian equities as well as bond yields rose from their historical lows today, as speculation on coordinated stimulus from global central banks and governments calmed down from panic-based heavy selloffs.
For its part, Japan will boost its private financing to small and mid-size firms infected by Coronavirus to 1.6 trillion yen ($15.3 billion), up from 500 billion yen earlier, while Australia has said it will soon announce stimulus measures as well.
So far, there have been more than 114,300 cases and 4,026 deaths in 112 countries and regions as of Tuesday at 0200 GMT, according to a Reuters toll. Nearly 4,300 cases and 199 deaths were reported yesterday.
Seven countries outside China reported more than 1,000 cases, and three reported more than 7,000, namely Italy, South Korea and Iran.
Italy added 1,797 new cases and 97 new deaths yesterday, bringing the total number of deaths linked to the virus in Italy now to 463, accounting for 52% of deaths outside China.
New Coronavirus infected cases have been reported in Burkina Faso, Brunei, Cyprus, the Channel Islands and Mongolia, while Chile has reported its first death.
With the closure of all of Italy, financial markets reeling and prison riots, it remains to be seen how the country can cope with the situation, with more than 9,000 infected in Italy in just over two weeks, putting a strain on the crackdown announced by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Monday.
Companies, including bars and restaurants, have been told that they can only remain open if they ensure customers stay a meter away.
