Concerns center on the ability of people to travel within China during and after the Lunar New Year holidays that start Friday, and whether the government may seek to deter movement to curb the spread of the disease. The country’s steel sector typically picks up after the week-long break as construction activity restarts.
Health officials are racing to assess the danger of the new SARS-like virus that emerged in China last month and has spread to five additional countries, including the first diagnosis in the U.S. The Asian nation will increase screening to tackle the growing outbreak, although it has acknowledged it’s still grappling to understand the pathogen. The illness has stirred memories of the SARS outbreak 17 years ago, though it isn’t yet as serious.
In addition to screening, Chinese officials are stepping up the monitoring of transportation links as the death toll increased to nine from six and hundreds of millions prepare to travel for the holiday. The World Health Organization will decide Wednesday whether to declare the virus an international public health emergency, a designation used for complex epidemics that can cross borders.