TOKYO/WASHINGTON/MADRID (Feb 10): The global death toll from the coronavirus outbreak reached at least 904, as the World Health Organization’s chief voiced concern over the spread of the disease from people with no travel history to China. 

China will spend at least $10 billion to control the outbreak as it reaches out for medical supplies from other nations. The central bank on Monday will provide the first re-lending funds to combat the illness and offer the facility weekly to banks this month.

Stocks in Asia were likely heading for a cautious start Monday as investors monitor the toll from the illness.

Key Developments

* Hubei province new deaths at 91; confirmed cases at 29,631

* Total China infections approach 40,000

* Wuhan cases may be close to peak, study says

* European spread raises concern of Singaporean super spreader

* Japan finds six more coronavirus cases on cruise ship

* Singapore confirms new cases, pushes total to 43

* Hong Kong cruise ship can let 3,600 disembark Bloomberg is tracking the outbreak on the terminal and online.

WHO Chief Concerned Over Virus Spread (6:35 a.m. HK)

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet that there have been concerning instances of coronavirus being spread from people with no travel history to China, saying “we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the virus.

“The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more widespread transmission in other countries,” he said in the tweet.

He called on countries to step up efforts to prepare for the coronavirus’s possible arrival. Donors have contributed toward the WHO’s efforts and those directed at vulnerable countries, he said, but the organization hasn’t reached its goal of $675 million to fight the coronavirus.

Hubei Reports 91 More Deaths (6:23 a.m. HK)

China’s Hubei province reported 91 deaths for Feb. 9, according to a statement from Hubei’s health commission. That’s the most fatalities in a single day so far for the province at the epicenter of the outbreak.

Hubei added 2,618 additional confirmed cases, up from a day earlier, when new cases reached the lowest level in almost a week. Total confirmed cases in the province are now 29,631. China’s nationwide coronavirus death toll is at least 902, with 871 in Hubei. There have been two deaths outside of
mainland China -- one in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines.

Trump Proposes Cuts for CDC (4:15 p.m. NY)

The Trump administration proposes a 10% cut in funding for the Centers for Disease Control, which is leading the U.S. response to the coronavirus outbreak, while leaving unchanged at $4 billion spending on infectious diseases, a person familiar with the budget said.

The administration is not proposing a supplemental budget for costs associated with the outbreak, according to the person, who requested anonymity to discuss the budget before the release on Monday.

WHO Team Heads to China (3:30 p.m. NY)

A World Health Organization assistant director-general, Bruce Aylward, will lead a team of medical experts heading to China as the nation fights the coronavirus outbreak.

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a tweet called Aylward a “veteran of past public health emergencies.” An advance team left Geneva for China on Sunday, he said. Aylward ran a review that led to the first system-wide activation procedures for major infectious disease emergencies, according to the WHO’s website.

WHO also will hold a global forum Tuesday and Wednesday in Geneva to accelerate research into the coronavirus outbreak, Ghebreyesus said in a separate tweet.

China’s ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai, endorsed WHO’s involvement earlier on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We are coordinating with the World Health Organization because a lot of things are done under the auspices of the World Health Organization,” he said. “All of us respect the WHO as the
most professional intergovernmental body in the world.”

Amazon Quits Mobile Event (2:50 p.m. NY)

Amazon pulled out of the mobile phone industry’s MWC Barcelona trade show this month, citing “continued concerns” tied to the coronavirus, a company spokesman said in an email. Nvidia and Ericsson are among exhibitors skipping the Feb. 24-27 event, the world’s biggest trade show for the mobile phone industry.

The organizer, GSM Association, said Sunday the event will be held, acknowledging “some large exhibitors” withdrew but that more than 2,800 plan to attend. Travelers from Hubei are barred and travelers to China must prove they left the country more than 14 days earlier.

MWC Barcelona will increase medical staff, step up cleaning and disinfection services and introduce a “microphone disinfecting and change protocol” for presentation speakers.

China Cites Medical Gear in Merkel Call (2:15 p.m. NY)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told German Chancellor Angela Merkel he hopes other nations will back his country’s efforts to fight the coronavirus and help his government buy medical supplies from Germany, Xinhua reported, citing a Sunday call between the leaders.

Li said China’s actions exceed recommendations of the World Health Organization. “The Chinese government and people are confident and capable of winning the fight against the epidemic,” he said, the state-run news agency reported.

Merkel said that Germany is paying close attention and has taken a “prudent stance” in dealing with the epidemic, Xinhua said. Merkel said Germany has not imposed excessively restrictive measures.

China Rejects Virus Speculation (12:30 a.m. NY)

China’s ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai, dismissed suggestions the coronavirus originated from a military laboratory or was part of biological warfare research, and warned against such speculation.

”I think it’s true that a lot is still unknown and our scientists, Chinese scientists, American scientists, scientists of other countries, are doing their best to learn more about the virus,” Cui said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” broadcast.

“It’s very harmful, it’s very dangerous to stir up suspicion, rumors and spread them among the people. For one thing, this will create panic. Another thing, that it will fan up racial discrimination, xenophobia.”

Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, last month in a tweet said Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak, has China’s only laboratory that works with deadly pathogens including coronavirus.

Cui also said he expects medical experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be part of the global health team of the World Health Organization traveling to China this week.

“We welcome the American experts to participate in our efforts,” Cui said, dismissing suggestions the Beijing government was refusing U.S. offers of assistance.

U.S. Targets 3 Border Crossings (11:30 a.m. NY)

The U.S. added medical staff at the San Ysidro, California; Buffalo, New York; and Blaine, Washington; border crossings to block the coronavirus, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said.

The checkpoints have the “highest amount” of traffic of Chinese nationals to the U.S., he said. “We are taking extra precautions for those ports of entry, as well as all ports of entry, to make sure medical care and
screening is occurring,” Wolf said Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

The U.S. also is checking cargo ships with crew from China to make sure none have the virus or show symptoms. If they do, “we are holding them out of the port,” he said.

For a week, the U.S. has diverted passengers who visited China to 11 airports that Wolf said handle “the vast majority of traffic from China.”

Singaporean Cases (10 a.m. NY)

Singaporean health officials are trying to trace three new cases to see if they’re linked to previous infections or travel to mainland China. Of the 22 locally transmitted cases, investigations and contact tracing have found links between 15 of the cases with the three currently known clusters, health officials said Sunday in an emailed statement.

Four patients have recovered and been released from the hospital, the officials said.

China Boosts Funding (7:30 a.m. NY)

China said it’s spent 31.55 billion yuan of the 71.85 billion yuan allocated to fight the outbreak, Xinhua reported, citing Finance Minister Liu Kun. Liu said authorities will make moves to support bringing the epidemic under control, and urged local and regional officials to look out for small businesses that have been hurt.

Spanish Links to French Ski Resort (6:30 a.m. NY)

A U.K. citizen tested positive on the Balearic island of Mallorca, according to Spanish health officials, who added that the infection appears to have occurred in a ski resort in France.

“The British patient had been exposed to another person with before arriving to Mallorca,” Fernando Simon, national director of the center for coordination of alerts and emergencies, said in a televised press conference.

The rest of the man’s family have tested negative for the virus, but will continue to be under observation, he said. It’s unlikely they will develop the virus although if they have been negative so far. The patient is the second case detected in Spain, and in both cases contagion occurred outside Spain.