MNI: CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: Total global cases..........>

MNI: CORONAVIRUS UPDATE:

Total global cases nearing in on 100,000, but new cases reported in Asia

continue to slow, with China confirming 160 new cases and South Korea another

145. This has kept focus on the outbreaks in USA and Western Europe, with

Germany reporting 87 new cases to a total of 349 and total Italian cases topping

3,000 total.

- Switzerland have reported their first Coronavirus-related death. The deceased,

a 74yr old woman, had pre-existing health conditions.

- The UK government have warned that Parliament could be shut for a period of

months in order to tackle Coronavirus as MPs are a particular contagion risk.

Later, the UK Chief Medical Officer advised that the House of Lords should also

be closed, with a number of members among those most at risk.

- Central bank response remains the focus. Sell-side banks with a small number

of notable exceptions now see an imminent BoE cut. Today, source reports suggest

the BoJ is mulling a new lending program to counter the economic impacts. This

would likely use existing lending infrastructure.