Ambassador of China in South Africa, his excellency Lin Songtian during a press briefing at the Embassy of China in Pretoria delivering an update on the spread of the novel coronavirus, 3 February 2020. Picture: Jacques Nelles
While many countries have commended China for its swift action to contain the spread of coronavirus, its economic disruption in international trade has increased, according to Schroders senior European economist and strategist Azad Zangana.
The outbreak has already hit investor confidence, according to Zangana.
“Restrictions on travel and the concerns of the general public will likely dampen household demand in China,” he said. “It is also likely to reduce tourism.”
“Combined with the potential delay in businesses returning to normal output, the risk of China’s growth falling below 6% year-on-year in the first quarter is rising.”
Zangana warned that the recovery in global manufacturing, which had “just started”, was now “in danger of being derailed”.
Conceding that the epidemic has raised international attention for spreading at an alarming rate, Chinese ambassador to South Africa Lin Songtian yesterday said, as of midnight on Sunday, there were a total of 17,205 confirmed cases.
He added there were 21,558 suspected cases of coronavirus, with 361 deaths reported. Among the dead were 15 confirmed cases in Hong Kong, eight in Macao and 10 in Taiwan.
“Fortunately, we have seen 475 patients that have been cured and left the hospitals back home,” said Songtian.
To date, there was no confirmed case reported in Africa.
Addressing journalists at the Chinese embassy in Pretoria, Songtian described the epidemic outbreak in China’s Wuhan as “a global battle between humanity and nature, that required the concerted efforts of the international community to win it over”.
“We fully understand South Africa and Africa are very concerned about the new coronavirus spreading at an alarming rate to other countries.
“What is more challenging for us is that the source of the infection from the coronavirus in Wuhan has not yet been discovered.
“The nature of the new virus is unknown. The risks of mutation are still unclear but its ability to spread is growing.”
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