Hong Kong have reported their first coronavirus death on Tuesday, as the country has been hit with a global health worry about the potency of the lethal disease.
Hong Kong became the second mainland that has reported a death, which has killed 427 people as the numbers rise vastly.
Only a few days back, I was sitting in this same spot writing about the coronavirus death toll reaching 81 but looking now at the 427 figure, this has not just become a case of a global health disaster but also a global economic disaster.
Chinese markets have leveled toady after it was reported yesterday that almost $400 billion was wiped off stock and business values yesterday, but the bad new has far from stopped.
It was interesting to see that Hyundai Motor (KRX:005380) said today that they were planning to suspend operations in South Korea due to the risk of the coronavirus disrupting supply chains.
Hyundai became the first automobile manufacturer to stop production outside of China, and the economic impact of the virus continues to weigh down on the global economy.
“Hyundai and Kia may be more affected as they tend to import more parts from China than other global automakers,” said Lee Hang-koo, senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade.
“South Korean parts makers followed and built their own facilities along with Hyundai,” Lee said.
The health secretary Matt Hancock has warned the British public that the coronavirus “will be with us for at least some months to come”, as growing concerns of British people rise over potential cases of the lethal disease spreading to the UK.
He told the House of Commons that the number of new cases worldwide was “doubling every five days” and dealing with it was “a marathon, not a sprint”.
These are testing times for global governments, however as Hancock said this could be something which is dealt with over a period of months, and an instant resolution may not be available.
