Coronavirus live updates: Pace of new cases in Hubei on the rise again; cruise lines ban Chinese nationals

This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.

The coronavirus outbreak worsened this week, with more than 31,000 cases and at least 636 deaths. CNBC will deliver live coverage of the virus, including photos from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, in a special report at 7 p.m.

Illumina Chief Medical Officer Phil Febbo discusses the possibility of a cure for the virus. —Cheddar Berk

The Trump administration announced that it would commit up to $100 million in existing funds to help the World Health Organization, China and other infected countries fight the coronavirus outbreak. WHO has been asking member countries for donations to help with response efforts after tapping $9 million from its contingency fund for emergencies earlier this week. When asked about contributing additional funds, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar that it was “premature” to discuss that. —Lovelace

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 300 points, or 1%, as concerns over coronavirus outweighed stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data. The rising number of cases has fueled concern over the effects on China’s economy. “China is really slowing and that’s worrying people for sure,” said Ed Hyman, chairman of Evercore ISI, on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” —Imbert

With the virus extending factory shutdowns in China, the Detroit automakers are starting to look at contingency plans. All three declined to estimate potential losses. At an investor meeting this week, General Motors China President Matt Tsien said fallout from the outbreak could lead to a larger near-term sales decline than the automaker expected. GM operates 15 assembly plants in China with its partners. Ford has six and Fiat has two. Factory closures also can hurt supply chain. —Wayland

After four guests on one of its ships were hospitalized to be tested for the new coronavirus, Royal Caribbean announced it is banning all Chinese passport-holders from its ships. “Any guests holding a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, regardless of when they were there last, will not be allowed to board our ships,” the company said. “Regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships.” —Feuer

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Royal Caribbean in an earlier headline.

Members of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force are expected to provide an update on the disease at a press conference at 2 p.m. Last week, the task force announced that certain foreign nationals deemed to pose a risk of transmitting the disease would be temporarily denied entry into the U.S. Some returning American citizens potentially at risk would also be quarantined. Watch the press conference here. —Lovelace

The number of new coronavirus cases slowed in China for a second day, but it’s too early to celebrate, World Health Organization officials said at a news conference. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the fewer number of cases is “good news,” but cautioned the public not to read too much into the new data. “The numbers could go up again,” he told reporters. “As you know, epi curves can zig zag,” referring to a diagram that shows the distribution of cases over time. —Lovelace

The Federal Reserve on Friday announced that it’s now monitoring the coronavirus as a potential threat to U.S. growth. The central bank wrote that “possible spillovers from the effects of the coronavirus in China have presented a new risk to the outlook. “Though recent reports have suggested steadier economic growth in Europe and China, the Fed warned the disease could “lead to disruptions in China that spill over to the rest of the global economy.” —Franck

Vice President Mike Pence said Beijing has demonstrated “an unprecedented level of transparency” with world health officials amid the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. “It’s heartbreaking but we stand ready with China to provide them any and all support,” he told CNBC’s Wilfred Frost on “Squawk on the Street.” Pence referenced Thursday’s phone call between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, after which Trump tweeted that China will “be successful” in getting control over the deadly coronavirus. “Trump made it clear that the United States is ready, willing and able to deploy resources,” Pence added. —Bursztynsky

The White House’s economic adviser said that President Donald Trump’s administration does not expect the coronavirus in China will have a major effect on the U.S. economy. “There’s a lot of variables involved and things we don’t know. Internally we have looked at a drop in GDP of perhaps two-tenths of 1% — that’s all we found so far. Again, based on the past and based on what we’re seeing ” National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told reporters. —Reuters

The Centers for Disease Control said a family of four have been removed from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship at the Bayonne Port in New Jersey. “The family has a travel history to mainland China, but not a history of travel to Hubei Province,” CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund said. New Jersey Department of Health will facilitate the specimen collection, and the samples will be sent to CDC for testing.” Health officials screened about two dozen for the virus, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis tweeted. —Feuer

World Health Organization officials are holding a press conference to update the public on the new coronavirus outbreak. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the group’s director-general, said the number of new cases is slowing. However, he expressed concern about supplies of items such as masks to protect against the virus, saying the prices of some of these items are skyrocketing. —Cheddar Berk

The Japanese Health Ministry confirmed 41 new cases of the virus on a quarantined cruise ship off the coast of Japan. The Diamond Princess cruise ship, which is operated by Carnival’s Princess Cruises, is carrying about 3,700 passengers and crew at the port of Yokohama. The new cases bring the total to 61 cases out of 273 people who were suspected to be exposed to the virus and tested for it. Among the newly infected people, there is one from Argentina, five from Australia, five from Canada, 21 from Japan, one from the U.K. and eight from the U.S. —Feuer

Shares of VF Corp., the parent of Vans, were down slightly after the company revealed it has been forced to close about 60% of its owned and licensed stores in China due to the outbreak. Stores in mainland China had accounted for about 6% of its fiscal 2019 revenue. In addition, the company sources about 16% of its total cost of goods sold from China, and about 7% of that gets shipped to the U.S. market. VF said it’s “not possible” to gauge the impact of its supply chain at this time. —Cheddar Berk

Burberry warned of a hit to demand, withdrew its financial guidance for 2020 and said it had closed more than a third of its stores in mainland China. It said spending by Chinese tourists in Europe and elsewhere had not been hurt as much, but given widening travel restrictions, it forecast this would worsen in the coming weeks. — Reuters

Sweden’s Ericsson has announced it will not attend Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, later this month, saying it cannot ensure the safety of employees and customers amid concerns over the coronavirus. “The health and safety of our employees, customers and other stakeholders are our highest priority. This is not a decision we have taken lightly,” CEO and President Borje Ekholm said in a statement. “We were looking forward to showcasing our latest innovations at MWC in Barcelona. It is very unfortunate, but we strongly believe the most responsible business decision is to withdraw our participation from this year’s event.” — Meredith

The director-general of the World Health Organization has warned about the risk of a chronic shortage of protective equipment as countries work to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Speaking at an executive board meeting at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was concerned about a lack of masks, gloves and other protective equipment, Reuters reported. Tedros also said there had been fewer reported coronavirus infections in China over the last two days. However, “the numbers could go up again,” he cautioned. Late last month, health experts told CNBC that the panic buying of face masks to protect against the coronavirus was “completely understandable,” but ultimately unwarranted. They also warned a shortage of masks could pose a risk to health workers. — Meredith

President Donald Trump has heaped praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping for “leading the counterattack” against the coronavirus. The U.S. president said via Twitter that he had recently had a “very good” conversation with Xi, adding that the White House was “working closely” with Beijing to help stop the outbreak. “Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!” Trump said. — Meredith

All times above are in Eastern time. Read CNBC’s coverage from our Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight: Trump heaps praise on Xi, Singapore raises virus alert to SARS level.

— Reuters and CNBC’s Michael Wayland, Thomas Franck, Jessica Bursztynsky, Christina Cheddar Berk, Hannah Miller, Saheli Roy Choudhury, Evelyn Cheng, Joanna Tan, Fred Imbert and Sam Meredith contributed to this report.