February 28 coronavirus news

Cleaning goods companies are stepping up production to meet demand as fears of coronavirus intensifies.

"We are taking up inventory levels [to] be prepared for the potential increase in demand for some of our bleach products," Clorox chief financial officer Kevin Jacobsen said on a call with analysts earlier this month. Clorox is one of four S&P 500 stocks to rise this week as the rest of the market has plunged.

Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of Dettol and Lysol said it was investing in its supply chain to be able to prevent shortages. 

"We're continuing to make capacity investments to ensure that we don't run out at the peak for some of these products that we have that, frankly, consumers demand and we can't fulfill," said CEO Laxman Narasimhan.

The best way to prevent transmission of the novel coronavirus is washing your hands — thoroughly — with soap and water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More on the markets: The Dow dropped 3,226 points in the first four days of the week, including its worst one-day point drop in history on Thursday. All three major indexes are on track for their worst week since October 2008.

There are dozens of coronavirus vaccines in development and being studied across the globe, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said during a press briefing in Geneva on Friday.

Tedros said that work is “progressing” on the development of vaccines and therapeutics.

In the meantime, Tedros added that to protect yourself from illness make sure to wash your hands and clean surfaces regularly with disinfectant, among other healthy habits.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said WHO epidemiologists have been monitoring developments in global coronavirus cases and “we have now increased our assessment of the risk of spread and the risk of impact of Covid-19 to very high at a global level.”

Most cases of the disease caused by the coronavirus can still be traced to known contacts or clusters of cases, he said, and WHO does not see evidence as of yet that the virus is spreading freely.

In general, the public should do "what you do every cold and flu season," said Dr. John Wiesman, the health secretary in Washington state — where the first US case of Wuhan coronavirus was confirmed.

That includes washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

The World Health Organization recommends staying at least 3 feet (or 1 meter) away from anyone who may be infected.

If you're the one feeling sick, cover your entire mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. But don't use your hands. Use either your bent elbow or a tissue that you throw away immediately afterward.

While the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend N95 respirator masks for the general public, it does recommend them for health care workers.

But certain types of facial hair can prevent respirators from working effectively. So, the CDC created an infographic showing which styles of facial hair are riskier than others.

Former White House economist Kevin Hassett told CNN this morning the coronavirus could “absolutely” spark recession if not contained.

He said that White House economist Peter Navarro is wrong that Apple is an anomaly in terms of taking a hit from the coronavirus. Many industries including airline and oil will also see hits.

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Rep. John Garamendi, a Democratic member who represents the area between San Francisco and Sacramento, said today that briefers in the room this morning pushed back on the whistleblower complaint that public health officials were not properly trained or protected at March Air Force Base when they went to meet incoming travelers from China.

However, he said briefers could not answer a question about whether they believed the whistleblower was wrong about what occurred at Travis Air Force base. 

Garamendi said some members will be briefed again this afternoon. He said he did not know who all would be invited to that briefing: It may just be more California members, but he said others may be invited as well. 

Garamendi said he is largely concerned about the fact that a patient who presented symptoms for days was not tested for coronavirus because of the protocols that had been established by CDC. He said it put health workers in the first facility in Vacaville, California at great risk and that 84 health workers at the first facility where the patient was have been sent home to self-monitor because of risk of exposure.

“They haven’t been tested yet because tests as of this morning were not available,” he said. “Those people quite possibly have been infected. Similarly, there are other hospitals in the Sacramento region whose personnel have been exposed.”

US stocks tumbled once again on Friday, as coronavirus fears continue to mount.

Equities are on track for their worst week since the financial crisis.

The Dow opened 750 points, or 2.9% lower on Friday — its seventh-straight day in the red. The broader S&P 500 opened down 2.8%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.9%.

The Dow dropped 3,226 points in the first four days of the week, including its worst one-day point drop in history on Thursday. All three major indexes are on track for their worst week since October 2008.

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread around the world, countries are scrambling to respond. Economists and investors are concerned about the outbreak's impact on economic growth and corporate earnings. Various American multinational companies, including Apple and Microsoft, have warned that they won't meet their earnings guidance because of disruptions from the virus.

Coronavirus was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. It's since spread to every continent except Antarctica.

CNN took a look at the outbreak's effects around the world — from Japan, where the Summer Olympics are due to take place this summer, to Italy, the site of Europe's largest outbreak.

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