WASHINGTON/BEIJING: Global markets suffered record falls on Thursday as alarm over the coronavirus intensified, and governments from Ireland to Italy unveiled new measures to contain the impact of a disease that has infected more than 126,000 people worldwide.
Travelers in Europe rushed to board flights to the United States after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping restrictions on travel from the continent, a decision that angered leaders there.
Events from sports matches to weddings were canceled or suspended, schools were closed and public gatherings banned, as normal life for millions began to be directly impacted.
“Maybe they postpone it for a year… if that’s possible,” Trump told reporters. “I like that better than I like having empty stadiums all over the place.”
The White House announced it was stopping public tours, while Rome’s Catholic churches were ordered closed – a move thought to be unprecedented in modern times – and the city’s faithful given dispensation not to attend Sunday mass.
But in China, where the epidemic originated, officials said the disease had peaked and the global spread could be over by June if other nations applied similarly aggressive containment measures as Beijing’s communist government.
Fears of the impact of such restrictions on the movement of people and goods hit global stocks and oil prices hard.
Major European bourses fell by double-digit percentages for their biggest daily losses on record, led by a 17% slide for Italian stocks, as stimulus efforts from the European Central Bank did little to calm nerves.
A 7% slide after the opening bell on Wall Street triggered a 15-minute suspension of trading, but stocks fell further later to put the Dow Jones .DJI on course for its worst day since the 1987 “Black Monday” crash.
Trump restricted certain travel from Europe to the United States in a televised address on Wednesday. On Thursday, weary and confused travelers rushed to airports to board the last flights back to the United States.
Already annoyed at what it considered excessive travel restrictions by Washington early in the crisis, Beijing smarted again at the latest U.S. criticism of its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien accused China on Wednesday of initially covering up the Hubei outbreak, saying that cost the world two months in response time.
In fact, retorted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, China’s efforts bought the world time, and “immoral and irresponsible” remarks would not help U.S. epidemic efforts.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian wrote on his Twitter account on Thursday that the U.S. military might have brought the coronavirus to Wuhan and the United States had to be transparent about its own cases.
Countries introduced new measures to slow the spread of the disease, some of them reminiscent of a war footing.
“It’s going to spread further,” British Prime Boris Johnson told a news conference. “I must level with you, level with the British public – more families, many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a television address on Thursday night that the country was facing its worst public health crisis in a century and announced a series of measures, including the closure of schools from Monday.
Norway invoked emergency powers to close a wide range of public and private institutions, including schools and restaurants, and halt all sporting events.
Ireland will shut schools, universities and childcare facilities until March 29 and restrict mass gathering to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Some matches in European soccer’s elite Champions League were postponed, while in U.S. sports the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League seasons were both suspended and Major League Baseball delayed its season start.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie were in self-isolation after she came down with flu-like symptoms and was tested for the new coronavirus.
Oscar-winning American actor Tom Hanks tested positive in Australia, where he is on a film shoot.
