Over the course of last week, the number of people infected with the virus, most of them in China, rose tenfold to 10,000. It had killed more than 200 people by Friday, Jan. 31.
The Trump administration last week declared a public health emergency over the outbreak and said American citizens returning from China would be quarantined for two weeks. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said foreign nationals who present a coronavirus risk would be barred from entering the country.
In China, Volkswagen Group, the largest carmaker in the country, said it was extending the holiday period for its 3,500 corporate employees in Beijing to Monday, Feb. 3, and would allow them to work from home for two weeks thereafter.
Ford Motor Co.’s joint venture with China’s Changan Automobile Co., Changan Ford, said its manufacturing operations would remain closed until Feb. 10. Toyota Motor Corp., which has plants in Guangdong as well as in the northeast city of Changchun and the northern city of Tianjin, has decided to keep all its China plants closed through Feb. 9.
Shanghai also is home to a Tesla plant and is a major production center for state-owned Chinese automaker SAIC Motor Corp. and its joint ventures with GM and VW Group. Guangdong is a large production base for VW Group, Toyota and Honda.
The central city of Wuhan, where the viral outbreak began, is also considering extending the New Year holiday. The state-owned Chinese company Dongfeng Motor Group and global automakers PSA Group, Renault, Nissan Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and General Motors all have plants there.
