Donald Trump has once again attacked the “fake news” media on Twitter over its coverage of the Wuhan coronavirus, a day after US health officials warned the deadly virus would inevitably spread across the country.

The president suggested the latest developments surrounding the outbreak outbreak were simply the result of news outlets “dong everything possible to make the Coronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible”.

Financial markets have, suddenly, panicked about the spread of the coronavirus from China and the prospect of a disease pandemic, writes economics editor Ben Chu.

It’s estimated that some $3 trillion (£2.3 trillion) has been wiped off the value of firms over the past four days.

So why is this happening? What exactly do traders fear will happen if Covid-19 does become a pandemic?

And why is this sell-off only happening now given the media has been full of headlines about the spread of coronavirus for months?
 

He said: "We have a clear, four-part plan to respond to the outbreak of this disease: contain, delay, research and mitigate."
 

Mr Hancock added guidance has been published in recent days for schools, employers, first responders, social care and the travel industry.
 

He explained: "If anyone has been in contact with a suspected case in a childcare or an educational setting, no special measures are required while test results are awaited.
 

"There is no need to close the school or send other students or staff home. Once the results arrive, those who test negative will be advised individually about returning to education.
 

"In most cases, closure of the childcare or education setting will be unnecessary, but this will be a local decision based on various factors including professional advice."

'You’re the secretary, I think you ought to know that answer'
 

Senator John Kennedy yesterday criticised Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for a lack of answers during a tense grilling over America's response to coronavirus outbreak.
 

Mr Wolf failed to answer a number of Mr Kennedy's questions, including how many people are estimated to become infected with Covid-19.

He also struggled with the precise mortality rate for the virus and how it compares to the flu.
 

“You’re the secretary, I think you ought to know that answer,” Mr Kennedy said at one point.
 

Mr Kennedy later admonished the DHS secretary for wrongly suggesting that a vaccine could be developed in a matter of months, contradicting testimony from a congressional briefing earlier in the day.
 

“Your numbers aren’t the same as CDC’s [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” he added.
 

The city of San Francisco, California has declared a state of emergency over the deadly coronavirus after health officials warned its spread across the United States was inevitable.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the state of emergency in a statement on Tuesday, saying “the global picture” surrounding the Wuhan coronavirus was “changing rapidly” and city officials “need to step-up preparedness.” 

“We see the virus spreading in new parts of the world every day,” she continued, “and we are taking the necessary steps to protect San Franciscans from harm.”
 

Read more on this story below:
 

China's economic recovery accelerating, Politburo says

China's economic recovery is accelerating but the coronavirus outbreak situation in the epicentre of Hubei province and its capital Wuhan is still dire, the ruling Communist Party's Politburo said on Wednesday according to a state television report.

China cannot ignore the risks of a coronavirus epidemic resurgence in certain regions, the report added.

The government would not let up on its push for stronger epidemic control, and would implement at a faster rate various works pertaining to economic and social development, the Politburo said.

The pace of the improvement of the epidemic control situation was expanding, it added.

China's central bank has taken steps to support the economy, including reducing interest rates and flushing the market with liquidity. It has also said it will provide special funds for banks to lend to businesses.

This infographic, created for The Independent by statistics agency Statista, shows the spread of the disease around the world.
 

'Up to 80 per cent of UK population could get coronavirus in worst-case scenario'
 

Up to 80 per cent of the UK population could become infected with coronavirus in a "worst-case scenario", a new document suggests.
 

The paper, from the National Security Communications Team, which advises ministers, says the Government is planning for a wide range of scenarios, including the reasonable worst case.
 

"For the UK, this could involve up to 80 per cent of the population being infected; however, not all of these people will experience symptoms and the vast majority of cases will be mild disease," it says.
 

"This is based on the currently available scientific evidence."
 

Under this scenario, of those who do develop the symptoms, "2 per cent to 3 per cent will result in a fatality", the document goes on.
 

This could potentially mean millions of Britons infected and hundreds of thousands of people dying. The population of the UK is around 66.4 million.

US soldier infected in South Korea
 

South Korean virus cases of the coronavirus have jumped again, as the US military confirmed its first case among American soldiers based in the Asian country.
 

Most of the new cases are connected to the south-eastern city of Daegu, with a growing illness cluster.
 

South Korea's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said 216 of the 284 new cases were in Daegu, where the government has been mobilising public health services to contain the spread of the outbreak, and in neighbouring towns.
 

The US military said the 23-year-old soldier was in self-quarantine at his off-base residence. He had been based in Camp Carroll in a town near Daegu, and visited both Carroll and nearby Camp Walker in recent days.
 

South Korean authorities and US military health professionals are tracing his contacts to determine if other people may have been exposed.
 

The World Health Organisation has warned that countries outside China are “simply not ready” for a pandemic as coronavirus continues to sweep across the globe.
 

In recent days, outbreaks have emerged in parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East, with national health authorities struggling to contain the spread of the disease. 
 

An alarming rate of infection has been recorded in countries such as Iran, South Korea and Italy, while the first case of Covid-19 was today announced in South America.
 

At the WHO headquarters in Geneva, assistant director general Bruce Aylward praised China for its 'aggressive' containment measures but warned that other nations were “simply not ready” to contain the outbreak.
 

“You have to be ready to manage this at a larger scale … and it has to be done fast,” Dr Aylward said.
 

“Access the expertise of China,” said Aylward. “They have done this at speed and they know what they are doing. They are really, really good at it.”
 

“Hundreds of thousands of people in China did not get Covid-19 because of this aggressive response,” he said.
 

'It's not a question of if. It's a question of when and how many people will be infected'

US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has alerted Americans to begin preparing for the spread of coronavirus in the United States after infections surfaced in several more countries.

The announcement signaled a change in tone for the health agency, which had largely been focused on efforts to stop the virus from entering the country and quarantining individuals traveling from China.

"The data over the past week about the spread in other countries has raised our level of concern and expectation that we are going to have community spread here," said Dr Nancy Messonnier, the CDC's head of respiratory diseases.

What is not known, she said, is when it will arrive and how severe a US outbreak might be. "Disruption to everyday life might be severe" and businesses, schools and families should begin having discussions about the possible impact from the spread of the virus, Messonnier cautioned.

Dr Anne Schuchat, the CDC's principal deputy director, said that while the immediate risk in the United States was low, the current global situation suggested a pandemic was likely.

"It's not a question of if. It's a question of when and how many people will be infected," Dr Schuchat said.

Here are the latest figures reported by each government's health authority as of Wednesday in Beijing:
 

— Mainland China: 2,715 deaths among 78,064 cases, mostly in the central province of Hubei
— Hong Kong: 81 cases, 2 deaths
— Macao: 10 cases
— South Korea: 1,261 cases, 11 deaths
— Japan: 870 cases, 5 deaths
— Italy: 323 cases, 11 deaths
— Iran: 139 cases, 19 deaths
— Singapore: 91
— United States: 57
— Thailand: 40
— Taiwan: 32 cases, 1 death
— Bahrain: 26
— Australia: 23
— Malaysia: 22
— Kuwait: 18
— France: 17 cases, 2 deaths
— Germany: 17
— Vietnam: 16
— United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom: 13
— Canada: 11
— Spain: 10
— Iraq: 5
— Philippines: 3 cases, 1 death
— India: 3
— Russia, Israel, Oman, Croatia, Austria: 2
— Lebanon, Belgium, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Cambodia, Finland, Egypt, Algeria, Afghanistan, Switzerland: 1