Coronavirus update: Croatia and Austria report first confirmed cases

Austrian province of Tyrol has reported two confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovic announced that they also have confirmed their first infection, the latest headlines crossing Reuters revealed.

Additionally, citing a spokesman for Iran's health ministry, Iranian news agency ILNA said Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi has tested positive for coronavirus and is noıw under quarantine. 

Risk perception

Despite these developments, the market seems to have improved slightly in the last hour with major European equity indexes and the US Treasury bond yield rebounding from daily lows. China's State Council said that they will exempt VAT for small businesses in the Hubei province and encouraged commercial banks to significantly lower lending rates and delay interest payments until the end of June.