Coronavirus live updates: US soldier based in South Korea tests positive

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All times below are in Beijing time.

The Hong Kong government has announced 120 billion Hong Kong dollars ($15.4 billion) benefit of measures to support its economy, which has been dragged down by pro-democracy protests and the new coronavirus outbreak.

Those evaluates include low-interest loans for small- and medium-sized businesses, tax reductions and a cash payout of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,283) to dwellers aged 18 and above.

“Since January 2020, Hong Kong has come under the threat posed by the new coronavirus outbreak, which further dealt a blow to the economy. We must take decisive measures to tackle the condition,” said Paul Chan, Hong Kong’s financial secretary. — Yen Nee Lee

Supermarkets in Beijing must keep customers at least 2 square meters (roughly 4 ft. by 5 ft.) separately from from each other, the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau said in an online statement Wednesday.

The announcement was originated in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, and told stores to use “smart, rapid and automatic sensing equipment” to improve the productivity of evaluating body temperatures, and prevent crowding, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese-language text. — Evelyn Cheng

A U.S. soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea has tested positive for the new coronavirus — emblem the first time an American service member has been infected, according to the United States Forces Korea (USFK).

Encampment Carroll is around 22 km (13 miles) away from the South Korean city of Daegu, where a broad number of infections in South Korea has been reported. The soldier also visited Camp Walker, which is circa 4 km from Daegu.

The 23-year-old soldier is currently in self-quarantine at his off-base residence, the USFK said. It added that reach tracing is currently underway. — Weizhen Tan and Christine Wang

Wuhan, Hubei province’s capital city, accounts for 60% of mainland China’s unconditional confirmed cases and about 77% of the deaths.

Even though local authorities have rushed to build new facilities, first-hand reports still describe inadequate hospital beds and medical care.

Amid the sheer number of cases, numerous locals say it’s difficult to get medical care. Many coronavirus patients’ families have turned to the public for help, with some the same turning to social media.

China’s National Vigour Commission reported 406 new confirmed cases, and an additional 52 deaths, as of Feb. 25.

Of the new cases, 401 were in Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak. The additional liquidations are all in Hubei.

The country’s total is now 78,064 confirmed cases, and 2,715 deaths.

South Korea reported a jump of 169 new cases, bringing the country’s total to 1,146 infected, be at one to the country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday morning.

It reported one additional death, bringing the total compute of fatalities to 11.

Of the new cases, 134 were from Daegu, the country’s fourth-largest city. So far, more than half of coronavirus receptacles in the country have been traced back to Daegu’s Shincheonji Church of Jesus, where the government is set to conduct evaluating on around an estimated 215,000 people.

The U.S. CDC this week raised its alert level for travel to South Korea, citing the outbreak there.

Iran’s health ministry on Tuesday supported 15 deaths from the coronavirus, the most fatalities of any country outside of China, where the deadly illness initiated. Iran also said there are 95 current cases.

The majority of Iran’s cases have been tie up to Qom, a major religious destination for Shiite pilgrims 85 miles south of Tehran, Iranian’s health ministry spokesman mean on state television Tuesday.

The virus’s rapid spread in Iran signals a greater risk to the wider region. And Iran’s links to the have a zizz of the Middle East through travel by religious pilgrims and workers — as well as its dire economic situation — make it unusually ill-prepared to handle the intensifying outbreak, regional experts say. — Natasha Turak

Asia hoards fell in early trading, as Wall Street saw another rout overnight.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.07% in primordial trade after dropping more than 3% on Tuesday. The Topix index also saw a 1.07% decline. South Korea’s Kospi get wise 1.79% while the Kosdaq dropped 1.62%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.74%. — Eustance Huang

Cruise smoothie Royal Caribbean says it has cancelled 30 cruises in Southeast Asia due to the outbreak, Reuters reported.

It has also modified a number of itineraries in the region and estimated the cancellations would lead to an impact of 90 cents per share in 2020, according to the suss out.

Markets in Japan were set to tumble at the open again as Wall Street saw another nosedive overnight on virus fears. The Nikkei 225 had closed down more than 3% on Tuesday.

Australian allots dropped around 1.8% in early trade.

All times below are in Eastern time.

The stock rout continued as diving bond yields raised more concern that the international economy is slowing significantly because of the spreading coronavirus. The 10-year Treasury yield hit a record low as the Dow Jones Industrial Standard in the main added to Monday’s 1,000-point drop. Comments from health officials warning of a possible outbreak in the U.S. also spooked investors, causing a turnaround in customaries which had opened the day higher.

The Dow dropped 879.44 points, or 3.1%, to 27,081.36 after being up more than 180 items at one point shortly after the open. The slid 3% to 3,128.21 while the fell 2.8% to 8,965.61. Monday’s conference was the market’s worst in two years. The S&P 500 posted back-to-back declines of at least 3% for the first time since November 2008 during the fiscal crisis, according to Bespoke Investment Group.

Soul trials testing a potential vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus are expected to begin in six weeks, U.S. health officials announced Tuesday. “We are on conditions at least and maybe even a little bit better,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Complaints, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, told reporters at a press conference. “Hopefully, no further glitches.”

The Stainless House reportedly asked Congress on Monday for $1.25 billion in additional funding to bolster its coronavirus response, cataloguing money to develop a vaccine and therapeutics to treat the virus. The National Institutes of Health has been working with biotech assemblage to develop a vaccine using the current strain of the coronavirus. —Lovelace

The coronavirus outbreak that’s shuttered commerce across China will likely become a epidemic pandemic, a top U.S. health official said, adding that it’s just a matter of time before the outbreak starts spreading in the U.S. “Known global circumstances suggest it’s likely this virus will cause a pandemic,” Anne Schuchat, principal intermediary director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters at a news briefing.

“It’s not so much a question of if this resolution happen any more, but rather more a question of when this will happen and how many people in this territory will become infected and how many of those will develop severe or more complicated disease,” she added.

Vigour and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar added: “We can’t hermetically seal off the United States.” Azar confirmed four new events of the virus from repatriated cruise ship passengers, bringing the total in the U.S. to 57.

Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: CDC conspectuses pandemic planning as fears send stocks plunging for second day

— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng, Christine Wang, Eustance Huang, Berkeley Lovelace Jr. and William Feuer donated to this report.