VIRUS DISEASES – CHINA

Virus evac deal with Beijing close

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Charlie Peel, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 31-Jan-20

The federal government is believed to be close to securing a deal with its Chinese counterpart to evacuate Australian citizens from Wuhan. The government intends to place evacuees in quarantine on Christmas Island for 14 days and require them to pay up to $1,000 for their flight. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says it is ‘normal procedure’ for evacuees to pay their costs. Meanwhile, a ninth case of the coronavirus has been confirmed in Australia; the virus has now claimed 170 lives and infected more than 7,700 people globally.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

From virus city to island refuge

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Richard Ferguson, Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 30-Jan-20

The federal government has requested permission from its Chinese counterpart to evacuate Australian citizens from Wuhan. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stressed that only one chartered flight from Australia may be permitted to land in Wuhan, while he has defended the government over criticism of its slow response to repatriating citizens who are in the quarantined city. The government intends to place evacuees in quarantine on Christmas Island for up to 14 days. Seven cases of the coronavirus has now been confirmed in Australia; more than 6,000 people worldwide have contracted the virus, which has claimed 132 lives to date.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Miners to bear the brunt of China woes

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 25 : 29-Jan-20

The coronavirus crisis has weighed on the shares of Australian resources groups that have exposure to China. Shares in Rio Tinto have closed below $100 for the first time since mid-December, while BHP, Fortescue Metals Group, OZ Minerals and Sandfire Resources also retreated on 28 January. The prices of iron ore and base metals have also fallen in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Macquarie notes that based on the SARS pandemic, base metal prices may take 3-5 months to recover from their recent losses.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, SANDFIRE RESOURCES NL – ASX SFR, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Employers order workers to stay at home after China trips

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Age – Page: Online : 29-Jan-20

Corporate Australia has responded to the coronavirus by taking a range of measures to protect staff. UBS is among the firms that have asked employees to work from home for two weeks if they have recently visited China. This includes staff who attended the investment bank’s recent Greater China Conference or who travelled to China for the Lunar New Year. The Commonwealth Bank has advised staff to avoid all non-essential travel to China, and to Hubei province in particular.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Aussies trapped as US flees virus

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Richard Ferguson, Amanda Hodge
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 29-Jan-20

The official death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 106, while more than 4,500 people have now been diagnosed with the illness worldwide. The virus has spread to at least 15 countries, including the US, France and Japan, with five cases having been confirmed in Australia to date. Meanwhile, more than 400 Australian citizens remain in the Chinese city of Wuhan where the outbreak began, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated that the federal government will seek to evacuate them. The Chinese government has not yet agreed to allow Australia to send a chartered plane to Wuhan, although the US has been cleared to do so.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Coronavirus: Australian government asks travellers to reconsider their need to travel to China

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Danuta Kozaki, Kevin Nguyen
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 29-Jan-20

The federal government’s Smarttraveller website has updated its travel advice for China in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Australians have been advised to reconsider whether they need to travel to China at all, while Foreign Minister Marise Payne says people should not travel to Hubei province – ‘ground zero’ for the virus – under any circumstances. Meanwhile, some schools in New South Wales have urged parents to keep their children at home for the start of the school year if they have travelled to China in recent weeks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

China trade links mean virus a $1bn risk

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 4 : 29-Jan-20

Australian National University economist Warwick McKibbin estimated in 2003 that the SARS virus reduced the nation’s GDP growth by 0.07 per cent. He says the coronavirus could have a much bigger impact on the Australian economy, noting that the Chinese economy is now much larger and more integrated than in 2003, while Australia has become much more dependent on trade with China. Business and consumer confidence is also likely to be negatively affected by the new virus, having already taken a hit from the bushfires crisis.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

China tourist ban to bite

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 28-Jan-20

The deepening coronavirus crisis has prompted the Chinese government to ban travel operators from taking tour groups overseas for at least two months. The blanket ban will particularly impact on Australia’s tourism industry, given that about 1.4 million Chinese tourists visit the nation each year and inject some $12bn into the domestic economy. Chinese travel companies have indicated that they have requested refunds for trips that have already been booked with Australian airlines and hotels.

CORPORATES

Doctors call for a national centre for disease control, as coronavirus outbreak spreads

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Cait Kelly
The New Daily – Page: Online : 28-Jan-20

The Australian Medical Association has argued for years that the nation needs a national centre for disease control, and the coronavirus outbreak has led it to repeat its call. AMA president Tony Bartone says having a CDC offers a number of benefits, while he claims that all other OECD member nations have a national CDC. The coronavirus has resulted in at least 80 deaths and infected 2,744 people in China, while it has spread to a number of other countries. The World Health Organization has stated that it is too soon to declare the coronavirus a global health emergency.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Health authorities brace for coronavirus’ spread from China

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Eryk Bagshaw
The Age – Page: Online : 24-Jan-20

Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, says health authorities are developing a one-step test for the pneumonia-like coronavirus. Chinese officials are preparing to seal off Wuhan, a city with 11 million people, in an attempt to contain the spread of coronavirus, with the last flight out of Wuhan to Australia arriving in Sydney on 23 January. Murphy says that if any passengers on the flight were infected, it could be weeks before they display any symptoms. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged Australians not to be too concerned; he noted that there have been no confirmed cases of the disease in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET