 | FRI, JAN 24, 2020 | | | | Deadly coronavirus spreads | 23andMe layoffs | | | | Think a friend or colleague should be getting this newsletter? Share this link with them to sign up.
The impact of the coronavirus this week was felt from Beijing to Seattle — where a U.S. traveler was under quarantine with the virus in a Snohomish County, Washington hospital after flying back from Wuhan, China. The virus, which has evoked memories of the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, is spreading quickly. As of Thursday, at least 18 people have died and more than 650 are sickened. WHO officials are hesitant to designate the outbreak as a global emergency. More on that later.
Additionally, CNBC's Chrissy Farr has news on layoffs at 23andMe, while CNBC's Bertha Coombs explains a new survey on loneliness.
(Are there any stories we should be chasing? Email tips, ideas, suggestions to CNBC Health Editor Dawn Kopecki at dawn.kopecki@nbcuni.com.)
| | Coronavirus cases rise worldwide as infection spreads to new countries | The total number of coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 650 on Thursday as the fast-spreading infection prompted local authorities to quarantine several major cities and cancel Lunar New Year's events in Beijing and elsewhere. Local authorities in China have quarantined Wuhan and Huanggang, which have a combined population of 17 million. Including Wuhan where the virus was first identified, travel bans were in effect for at least seven cities by Thursday. The U.S. State Department reiterated its level 2 travel advisory as U.S. health officials screen passengers flying from China at major international airports.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | Beware stock volatility in the rush for coronavirus vaccines & treatments | The pharmaceutical industry can be at its best when it comes to a public health emergency like this: within days of receiving word the novel coronavirus was found to spread between people, companies from Regeneron to Gilead to younger companies like Vir Biotechnology and Moderna Therapeutics confirmed they are marshalling their scientific expertise and resources to try to find solutions. As investor Nate Sadeghi-Nejad pointed out on Twitter, the same companies the public loves to hate are the ones now being depended on for potential solutions. These announcements, though, almost certainly don't portend major money-making opportunities, and the resulting stock volatility (particularly among microcaps) is likely overdone.
-Meg Tirrell | | | | WHO officials hesitate to designate virus as a global health crisis | The World Health Organization declined two times this week to formally designate the new virus as a global health emergency. Health officials are trying to contain the fast-spreading illness without unnecessarily spooking global trade. WHO physicians said they needed more data before declaring a global emergency, but the virus is now spreading through close human contact and in health-care settings, they said. "Make no mistake, this is an emergency in China. But it has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | 23andMe is laying off 100 people to 'rightsize' the business | 23andMe is laying off about 100 of its 700 employees this week, because sales of DNA tests are down. 23andMe, which is backed to the tune of almost $800 million from Alphabet and GlaxoSmithKline, among others, isn't the only company impacted. Sales are down across the at-home DNA testing segment. 23andMe's CEO Anne Wojcicki, in an interview with CNBC, said she was "surprised" and did not have a clear explanation for the shift. But she did point to privacy concerns and fears about an economic downturn as potential factors.
-Chrissy Farr | | | | We're feeling lonelier, and the youngest of us feel it most | Cigna's second Loneliness Index survey shows that working age Americans are experiencing more feelings of loneliness and isolation. The new survey shows men reporting a sharp jump in loneliness from a year ago. What's most striking is that GenZ young adults aged 18-22 are feeling the most alienated. Some of that may be due to the stress they feel in entry-level jobs, but there also seems to be a correlation between high social media use and feelings of isolation. The good news is that more in-person interactions seem to cut down on loneliness, which may be why older more established workers don't feel alienated at work nearly as much.
-Bertha Coombs | | | | Epic Systems takes action against Google Cloud, HHS rules to prevent data-blocking | Epic Systems is one of the largest medical record companies in the U.S. It's typically been under-the-radar, but came out of hiding in the past few weeks. The company started notifying its hospital customers it would no longer be integrating with Google Cloud because it wasn't seeing sufficient interest. And then, its CEO Judy Faulkner sent a letter to the CEOs of various health systems urging them to take a stand against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' proposed rules to stop health information blocking.
-Chrissy Farr | | Healthy Returns: Investing in health care innovation
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