Coronavirus: where do things stand and where are they going?

The virus has spread rapidly outside China and now has ‘pandemic potential’

Mask-clad commuters make their way to work during morning rush hour at the Shinagawa train station in Tokyo on February 28, 2020. - Tokyo's key Nikkei index plunged nearly three percent at th
Mask-clad commuters make their way to work during morning rush hour in Tokyo on February 28
(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

Financial markets around the world nosedived into correction territory yesterday and this morning as concerns over the global economic impact of the rapidly spreading coronavirus surge.

As of this morning, 48 countries have registered cases of the virus - 15 of them European - with more than 82,000 people infected. The virus has also claimed at least 2,858 deaths, and Germany and the US recorded their first cases of infection in people who had not travelled to infected areas and had no close links to other confirmed cases, meaning transmission is likely happening unnoticed within communities.

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William Gritten

William Gritten is a London-born, New York-based strategist and writer focusing on politics and international affairs.