With all the news reports on coronavirus, specifically COVID-19, it's hard not to be concerned. There are new reports out daily that bring new fears about health and the markets.
Health Concern
Coronaviruses are not new themselves. They are a large family of viruses common in many animals and rarely infect humans. However, this specific coronavirus has not been seen before.
The CDC has stated that the new coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads from close person-to-person contact through respiratory droplets. Close contact counts as about 6 feet apart. A person may be able to pick the virus up from surfaces recently in contact with an infected person. People are thought to be most contagious when they are the sickest and showing symptoms; however, the virus may be able to be spread when someone is asymptomatic. The coronavirus is still considered an emerging virus and there is a lot to be learned about it.
Right now, the concern to the U.S. general population is listed as low. Keeping up with current news to stay informed on the virus is a good idea. While the coronavirus is not a high threat yet, flu season is still here. The best recommendations right now are to stay current on news and keep good hygiene practices. Avoid touching your eyes and face while out in public, wash your hands thoroughly, avoid close contact with anyone who is sick. If you haven't already gotten your yearly flu shot, it's a good time to get that as well. While it won't protect against this new virus, it can help you keep healthy from the current flu strains going around.
Market Concern
Watching the news on the coronavirus, we are seeing effects on daily volatility of markets as the markets try to predict the effect of GDP and corporate earnings. Going forward the virus’s effect on the market will likely depend on how far reaching the virus is. Further spread or a prolonged time period would likely rattle the markets. We continue to hope for a slowdown of both the spread between people and the geographic spread.
The CDC keeps their webpage on COVID-19 up to date with new information every day. For more information click on the link below.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
