The virus, which first surfaced in China in December, has now killed more than 5,000 people, with cases around the world topping 134,000, according to an AFP tally.

Analysts say the virus risks plunging the world’s largest economy into recession as people put their lives on hold – canceling travel plans, staying home and steering clear of restaurants, movie theaters and other public spaces.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency, granting him new powers as the number of confirmed cases rose to 95 in the nation’s most populous city.

“We are getting into a situation where the only analogy is war and a wartime dynamic,” de Blasio said, referring to an expected surge in demand for hospital beds.

From California to New York, officials banned large gatherings and closed museums and other institutions without saying how long the directives would stay in place, compounding the uncertainty.

Major European bourses fell by double-digit percentages for their biggest daily losses on record, led by a 17% slide in Italian stocks .FTMIB. Stimulus efforts from the European Central Bank did little to calm nerves. 

The goal is to prevent the kind of surges that overwhelmed Italy – a country with more doctors and hospital beds per capita than the United States – causing fatality levels to leap as doctors ran out of equipment to help people breathe.

However, Lee assured the situation remains under control and Singapore will not raise its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level to Red from the current Orange.