7:15 pm: German investor confidence falls sharply amid coronavirus fears

German investor confidence has sharply deteriorated amid intensifying fears that China's coronavirus outbreak will significantly hamper world trade, according to a new survey.

The ZEW Research Institute said Tuesday that its monthly survey showed economic sentiment fell to 8.7 in February, down from 26.7 in January. Analysts had anticipated a reading of 21.5 this month.

"The feared negative effects of the Coronavirus epidemic in China on world trade have been causing a considerable decline of the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany," ZEW President Achim Wambach said in a statement.

"Expectations regarding the development of the export-intensive sectors of the economy have dropped particularly sharply." — Meredith.

3:32 pm: Chinese study suggests people ages 60 and older are most at risk

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a study on Monday that looked in depth at the coronavirus epidemic on the mainland that has infected more than 72,000 and killed over 1,800.

The report examined 72,314 unique patient records, including 44,672 confirmed cases as of Feb. 11.

It found around 81% of the confirmed cases were said to be mild, 13.8% were severe and 4.7% were critical while information on the rest was missing.

It also suggested that people ages 60 and above were most at risk, based off the reported case fatality rate — calculated by dividing the total number of deaths by the total number of cases. Of the cases examined, about 14.8% of people 80 and older died.

The overall case fatality rate in the study was 2.3%. The study also noted that nearly half (49%) of the people who were in critical condition have died.

1:53 pm: Director of hospital in Wuhan dies from virus

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission confirmed Liu Zhiming, the director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, died Tuesday morning.

According to an online report from state news broadcaster CCTV, medical staff sent from Beijing Xiehe Hospital said Liu died of the new coronavirus at 10:30 a.m. after an all-out rescue effort failed.

Wuhan Municipal Health Commission later said Liu died at 10:54 a.m. and that he was 51 years old.

Nearly two weeks ago, doctor Li Wenliang, who was initially reprimanded by local authorities for his early warnings about the virus, also died from the new coronavirus. — Cheng

Underlying, existing illnesses such as cardiovascular disease increased the chance of fatality, the report found.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/18/coronavirus-covid-19-latest-updates-china-death.html [cnbc]

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