The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Thursday that it was "too early" to declare the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China a public health emergency of international concern.
The flu-like virus has killed 25 and infected 830 in China as of Thursday, with 34 cured and discharged.
History will not repeat itself
The virulent respiratory disease SARS that wreaked worldwide havoc in 2013 took a toll on China's economy, bringing down GDP growth from 11.1 percent in Q1 to 9.1 percent in Q2 before recovering to 10 percent in the next quarter.
Chinese government in the interim maintained a relatively loose macro policy and provided targeted financial support for industries affected by the respiratory disease, such as hotel, catering, transportation and retail industries.
Some government-levied charges in the tourism, transportation, hotel, and catering sectors were exempted and monetary and credit policies were eased, thanks to which the year-on-year growth rate of M2, or aggregated money supply, edged up from 18.5 percent in March 2003 to some 20 percent in May, and further rose to 21.7 percent in August.
Macro Research team of China International Capital Corporation (CICC) believes that if the outbreak is put under control in the short term, it will not have much impact on the macro economy. However, there is a great deal of uncertainty about how it will develop, and people need to keep a watchful eye on the changes.
Wang Tao, chief China economist at Swiss bank UBS, commented that if the spread of the virus is not significantly circumscribed soon, the retail, tourism, hotel and catering, transportation will suffer a big setback, with Q1 and Q2 standing to suffer the most losses.
But Wang noted China has come a long way since 2003. The government's response to and prevention of the new pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan is more proactive, communication is more transparent, and the public health system is more mature than in the past.
Firm countermeasures
The government has now been pushing forward an array of disease prevention and control measures, ensuring sufficient supply of masks, limiting public gatherings and trips to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Wednesday launched an emergency coordination mechanism to cater to the growing demand of masks due to the novel coronavirus, asking local authorities to work with factories to overcome labor difficulties during the Spring Festival, and accelerate production and to increase supply to the market.
Chinese face mask manufacturers have ruled out holidays from their agenda, jacking up workers' wages in response to frenzied demand spurred by anxiety to protect themselves from the flu-like virus.
Reuters reported U.S. firms 3M and Honeywell International issued statements saying that they would make every effort to ensure a continuous supply of masks during the holiday season and that their official stores would not raise prices.
Civil Aviation Administration of China on Thursday said passengers who had purchased air tickets could have their money fully refunded from January 24 without any additional charges. The country's railway operator also rolled out a similar refund plan.
Wuhan has currently suspended all forms of public transport, including outbound trains and flights as of 10:00 a.m. on Thursday to contain the spread of disease, a move praised by the World Health Organization as a strong one that could limit its spread.