Mortality associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus is observed particularly among people who are older than 60 years of age, with the mean value of 73 years of age.

The death toll from the new virus currently stands at 213 and the number of reported cases at well over 8,000. It has now infected more people in China than were affected during the outbreak of SARS, a relation of the coronavirus.

From France to Japan, governments were organising evacuations, while Hong Kong – scene of anti-China unrest for months – planned to suspend rail and ferry links with the mainland. United Airlines said it was suspending some flights between the United States and China for a week from Feb.1 due to a “significant decline in demand.”

“We don’t know how long it will go,” said Peter Costello, chairman of Australia’s $115 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, in a media briefing to coincide with a regular portfolio update.

“Obviously we hope that the measures that have been taken now will contain the virus but it’s still far too early. It will have an obvious negative effect on the Australian economy and indeed beyond,” added Costello, a former Australian treasurer.

During the 2002-2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which originated in China and killed nearly 800 people globally, air passenger demand in Asia plunged 45%. The travel industry is more reliant on Chinese travellers now.

“Supply chain disruption is a worry if employees across Foxconn and other component manufacturing hubs in China are restricted,” said analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities Inc. “If the China outbreak becomes more spread it could negatively impact the supply chain which would be a major investor worry.”

Global concern has been growing, with Japan and Germany on Tuesday reporting the first human-to-human infections outside China.
Until now, all cases in more than a dozen countries involved people who had been in or around Wuhan.