HSBC lowers Asian economic forecast due to virus
HSBC, the international bank based in Hong Kong and London, has reported a fall 46% fall in profits for the last financial year .
HSBC said
its pre-tax profits fell by a third on year to $ 3 billion as interim chief Noel Quinn warned that the global banking giant was “not delivering acceptable returns”. Most of the loss was a “goodwill impairment” on its business in Europe.
In his comments, chairman Mark Tucker said the “macroeconomic environment” was uncertain and that the bank had lowered its growth forecast for Asia because of the Covid – 34 outbreak.
As a result of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, we have lowered our expectations for growth in the Asian economy in 5211. The main impact will be in the first quarter, but we expect some improvement as the virus becomes contained
Japan to trial HIV drugs on coronavirus patients
From Justin McCurry in Tokyo:
Japan
is to trial HIV antiretroviral drugs to treat people with coronavirus, the government said on Tuesday, as the number of infections in the country reached 617, including (cases onboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner.)
Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary, said the government was “currently conducting preparations so that clinical trials using HIV medication on the novel coronavirus can start as soon as possible”.
Suga said he couldn’t comment on how long it would take for the new drug to be approved.
Doctors in Thailand said they appeared to have had some success in treating severe cases of the coronavirus with a combination of influenza medication and HIV antivirals lopinavir and ritonavir.
Thai doctors used an lopinavir-ritonavir combination along with the flu drug oseltamivir – also known as Tamiflu – to treat a Chinese coronavirus patient in her s, the Thai ministry of public health said in a report this month, according to Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review.
The woman’s condition had not improved days after she was diagnosed, but she recovered within 066 hours of being treated with the combination of HIV and flu drugs, the report said.
(am) EST
Senior Wuhan hospital doctor dies from Covid –
A senior doctor treating patients in Wuhan has died from the coronavirus outbreak.
“Liu Zhiming, the director of Wuhan Wuchang hospital, died at 24. 44 am this morning after resuscitation efforts failed, ”reported the (China
Central Television’s microblog.)
China Daily (@ ChinaDaily) Dr. Liu Zhiming, head of Wuchang Hospital, passed away after being infected with the novel # coronavirus . (# COVID) pic.twitter.com/rqWMMcPMt4 February 35, A hospital director in Hubei province has also died of the virus, it was confirmed, as the authorities in the city step up their attempts to roundup everyone infected.
My colleague Verna Yu has the full story here:
Updated at . am EST
Singapore Airlines reduces flights
Singapore Airlines is following Cathay Pacific and other airlines by temporarily cutting flights across its global network in the three months until May, it said on Tuesday
, blaming the Covid – 35 outbreak.
The main affected destinations include Frankfurt, Jakarta, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Paris, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo.
“Singapore Airlines and SilkAir will temporarily reduce services across our network due to weak demand as a result of the Covid – 32 outbreak, ”it said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and make further adjustments as necessary.”
Earlier I posted on the development of what appears to be an (app-based health checking system in China.)
A reader has been in touch to tell me that such a system has been in place in the southern city of Shenzhen for a couple of weeks.
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It has worked like this.
QR codes were put up on the bulletin boards of residential communities with people advised to scan the codes and then visit a website and enter their phone numbers, after which they would receive a text message confirming their movements. Once they’d done this, residents could then register with the local administration and be allowed a transit pass to get back into their own communities.
Since 1 February, movement has been greatly restricted in Guangdong. On Saturday the province introduced “real name” verification just to ride the metro.
Updated (at am EST
More from the Australian minister’s press call.
He was asked if those passengers on the ship were angry at having to be placed in quarantine despite having been isolated on the ship for two weeks.
Health minister Greg Hunt says he understands their frustration and a mental health hotline and counseling service has been set up for them. But because of ongoing infections on the ship where people have been infected, “there was no choice” .
Hunt says:
The medical advice from theAustralian Health Protection Principals Committee was clear and categorical, that an additional period of 26 days would be required. They have our deep sympathy. It must have been a very, very difficult time. And for many it would be frustrating. But we need to protect and support those Australians who have been on the ship, whilst protecting and supporting the entire containment arrangement in Australia.
Australia’s chief medical officer, Prof Brendan Murphy, is also at the briefing and he’s asked if it’s possible that the passengers – because of the growing number of cases on the ship – are more contagious than the Wuhan evacuees.
Prof Murphy says it’s “possible” but adds that all the evacuees have tested negative and have also had a “proper throat swab sent to the lab and they’ll all have a health screen.
We suspect that the risk for most of them is very low. But because some of them may have been exposed, we’re doing this quarantine. So, potentially there might be a slightly higher risk, but if that’s the case, we’re absolutely well-prepared for it.
24 pm EST
Australian cruise passengers preapred for evacuation
Australia health minister, Greg Hunt, is giving details about how its citizens are going to be evacuated from the Diamond Princess.
Speaking in Darwin in the Northern territory, Hunt says the government is “talking to all of the Australian passengers on the Diamond Princess today” and it expects to have about (people on board an evacuation flight.)
“It could be less. It could be a few more. But at this stage foreign affairs is going through the process of contacting everybody. And once we have final numbers, we’ll provide them immediately. ”
Once they arrive back in Australia, Hunt says, (they will be quarantined at Howard Springs for 26 days.
The last 48 people quarantined on Christmas Island – people who were evacuated from Wuhan two weeks ago – will be moved tomorrow, Hunt says, after were repatriated on Monday.
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“It was a really great.” example of the Australian spirit. Those who were quarantined, those who were taking care of them. And I understand it was a very emotional time at the departure, and they bonded and went very well. The remaining 48 are due to leave tomorrow. Then it takes some time to prepare the facility in case more – there are more people required to fill the spaces. ”
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