The deadly Coronavirus, which has already negatively impacted trade, has now claimed up to 80 lives and infected over 2,700 people.

Wuhan, which served as ground zero for the outbreak, is still actively in the process of cancelling events and imposing mandatory quarantines.

In a report released this weekend, the Chinese government had already decided to extend their week-long holiday by 3 days in all cities except Shanghai and Ningbo, to February 2nd, as a means of additional quarantine. Many large pharmaceutical and tech companies have announced that they will remain closed until at least February 8th, and we are hearing reports that numerous factories are deciding to remain closed until February 10th. The prolonged stoppage of labor will surely hinder supply chains, with trade already screeching to a halt as providers announce massive service suspensions in the area.

The Coronavirus continues to spread viciously across China and has been detected in smaller scales in the U.S., France, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and Nepal.

Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.