The humanitarian costs of the coronavirus outbreak continue to mount, with more than 239,000 people infected globally. The number of people confirmed to have died as a result of the virus has now surpassed 9,900.
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The virus's proliferation has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, meaning it is spreading rapidly in different parts of the world. More than 150 countries have confirmed cases so far.
The epicentre of the coronavirus is now Europe, with the largest number of confirmed cases in Italy, and death tolls growing more quickly in Italy and Spain than they did in China at the same stage of the outbreak.
In most western countries case numbers have been increasing by about 33 per cent a day, a sign that other countries may soon be facing the same challenge as Italy.
The Asian city-state of Singapore and the territory of Hong Kong are on a different trajectory in terms of the growth in case numbers. The rate of increase has so far been relatively contained through rapid and strict measures.
There have now been at least 100 confirmed cases recorded in 60 countries around the world.
Case numbers have now passed 100 in 26 European countries. The region now accounts for 75 per cent of new daily cases.
The Financial Times China Economic Activity Index
China's slowdown due to the coronavirus outbreak has been pronounced and consequential for the global economy. In order to track these changes, the Financial Times has constructed its own measure of the slowdown and nascent recovery in the Chinese economy.
Official data lags behind activity since it is mostly monthly, and China's data is sometimes viewed as open to political manipulation.
Using Wind's financial database, we have compiled a weighted index of six daily, industry-based data series.
The measures of the domestic economy include real estate floor space sales, traffic congestion within cities, and coal consumption in major power plants. Trade activity is represented by container freight.
Two other indices, which have been given a lesser weighting, provide social and environmental context: box office numbers from Chinese cinemas - a good proxy on consumer activity - and air pollution in the ten largest cities.
Written by: Steve Bernard, Cale Tilford and John Burn-Murdoch
© Financial Times
