Death toll inside China rises to 908 as the WHO dispatches a team of experts to Beijing
Stock markets remain fairly calm about the outbreak despite mounting concerns about the impact on the global economy.
The Japanese Nikkei index is down 0.4% so far today, Sydney is off 0.2% and the Kospi in Seoul has lost nearly 1%. The markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai are down 1% and 0.8% after 30 minutes of trading.
Tens of millions of people plan to go back to work on Monday as a prolonged Lunar New Year holiday comes to an end. Authorities had extended the end of the holiday, which sees tens of millions of people criss cross the country to go back to work and school from their hometowns, by 10 extra days because of the virus.
Many cities have been turned into ghost towns over the last few weeks. But it is unclear how much life will go back to normal. Schools are still shut. China’s state council has said that staff should come back in “batches” rather than all at once. Many factories remain shut and many businesses have asked their staff to work from home.
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