“COVID-19 is battering the global economy in numerous ways. Chinese business travel and tourism has all but stopped; global airlines are not going to China and cruise lines are cancelling most Asia-Pacific itineraries. This is a huge problem for major travel destinations, including in the US, where some 3 million Chinese tourists visit each year,” Moody’s Analytics said.

The situation is worsening in other countries, with more than 2,000 cases and 30 deaths reported abroad, prompting a raft of restrictions on travellers from infected nations.

The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday suspended all flights to and from Iran due to the spread of the coronavirus in the Islamic republic, while Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman reported their first cases this week.

  On Monday, fears that the coronavirus outbreak in China will grow into a pandemic with disruptive and deadly consequences for countries across the globe spooked most equity markets. The virus, which has killed 2,442 people in China, has reportedly spread to 28...

“While the coronavirus is probably slowing in China, it is speeding up elsewhere,” Charles Gillams, at RJMG Asset Management, said. “Its impact on Chinese business is already deep. So, whether that has a one economic quarter impact — of some severity — or is a bigger issue remains unclear and indeed we won’t know for while.”

The White House said more than $1 billion of the requested virus budget would go toward developing a vaccine, while other funds would be used for therapeutics and the stockpiling of personal protective equipment such as masks.