Coronavirus live updates: Abbott Labs is developing a mass screening test as Trump seeks to reopen US economy

FAN Editor

This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are in Eastern time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. 

  • Global cases: More than 2,101,100
  • Global deaths: At least 140,773
  • US cases: More than 641,100
  • US deaths: At least 31,590

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

1:55 pm: Cramer: Amazon is the ‘Grim Reaper’ for smaller businesses, but it also may help save America

Amazon’s dominance has been solidified during the coronavirus pandemic, but the consequences of that are complicated, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said. 

Amazon is either the Grim Reaper for everyone or the greatest thing that’s ever happened to the American consumer. Or maybe both,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.” 

“Has Amazon not become a country during this period?” Cramer added, noting Amazon’s dramatic hiring to keep pace with coronavirus-related demand increases while the rest of the U.S. economy has shed 22 million jobs in recent weeks. 

Since March, the e-commerce giant has added more than 100,000 new employees, with plans to add another 75,000 to its ranks.

“They’re a juggernaut that just wipes out everybody,” said Cramer, pointing to Amazon’s far-reaching operations into a myriad of sectors. “Look what they’re doing to the drug stores.” —Kevin Stankiewicz

1:49 pm: Italy’s fashion leaders urge Rome to lift restrictions on industry

Italy’s fashion leaders called on the government to loosen restrictions imposed in response to the coronavirus crisis to allow them to resume some production, warning that a prolonged lockdown risked irreparably damaging the sector.

“Fashion is a seasonal industry, and certain dates are not compressible. Not reopening shortly would mean giving up almost a year’s turnover,” said Carlo Capasa, the chairman of Italy’s National Fashion Chamber (CNMI), in an online interview on the website of daily Corriere della Sera.

Current lockdown measures in Italy – the country with the third highest number of confirmed cases after the United States and Spain – have been imposed until May 3.

With a turnover of 95 billion euros ($98 billion US) and 600,000 workers, Italy’s fashion and textile industry is the second most important nationwide.

It accounts for a 41% share of the sector in Europe, followed by Germany, which represents 11% of the total. —Reuters

1:41 pm: The New York retail real estate market is reeling because of coronavirus, as rents tumble

A woman wearing face mask walks by a closed store at Times Square on April 12, 2020 in New York City.

Liao Pan | China News Service | Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic is pummeling the retail real estate market in New York City, with rents tumbling and not expected to turn around anytime soon, according to a new report from commercial real estate services firm CBRE.

Average retail asking rents in the city continued to fall during the first quarter, which started Jan. 1 and ended March 31, with the average of the New York City neighborhoods surveyed dropping 9% year over year to $714 per square foot, the report said. This marked the tenth consecutive quarter of declines. On a year-over-year basis, 13 of the 16 corridors tracked by CBRE, including the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, saw rent decreases.

Most notably, in Times Square, retail rents have dropped to levels not seen since 2011. Average rents dropped 15.7% from a year ago to $1,647 per square foot. Average rents are now below $1,800 per square foot for the first time since 2011, CBRE said. —Lauren Thomas

1:33 pm: US intel community examining whether virus emerged accidentally from a Chinese lab

The U.S. intelligence community is examining whether the virus that caused a global pandemic emerged accidentally from a Chinese research lab studying diseases in bats, current and former U.S. intelligence officials tell NBC News.

Spy agencies have ruled out that the novel coronavirus was manmade, the officials say. But scientists at a military and a civilian lab in Wuhan, where the virus originated, are known to have conducted ongoing research on coronaviruses, officials say. They say intelligence agencies have gathered and are weighing evidence that an employee of one of the labs could have become accidentally infected and left the facility with the virus.

“It’s a possibility, though not the most likely possibility,” one official told NBC News.

Asked about the intelligence on TODAY, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said, “This is something we’ve been watching closely now for some time,” adding that the results of the investigation are thus far “inconclusive.” —Ken Dilanian, Courtney Kube

1:25 pm: Lawyers get ready for first-ever Supreme Court oral arguments by phone

The Supreme Court’s announcement this week that it will hold oral arguments via teleconference for the first time in its history has a small group of America’s top attorneys prepping for the most important phone calls of their careers.

The court said that it will hear 10 arguments over the first two weeks in May, including blockbuster disputes over the Electoral College and whether President Donald Trump can keep his tax records shielded from investigators. 

The issues are weighty, whether they are discussed in a basement office over a cell phone or inside the Supreme Court’s historical Corinthian building. But lawyers who will be arguing before the court are still adjusting. 

“I’m trying to figure out: Do you stand up? Do you sit down? Do you get a podium?” Jay Sekulow, an attorney for the president and a veteran Supreme Court lawyer, said in a recent interview.

Those questions are just the beginning. Do you use earbuds? Put the justices on speaker phone? And what about the handcrafted quill pens, which in more normal times are left on the counsel table as a souvenir for arguing attorneys?

“I am planning on giving my quill pens to my grandchildren, so I am hoping they still send us the quill pen,” said Sekulow, who will be asking the top court to reverse lower court rulings ordering Trump’s banks and longtime accounting firm to hand over his financial records to state and congressional investigators. —Tucker Higgins

1:19 pm: 2020 New Orleans Jazz Fest canceled

The 2020 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which had been rescheduled for the fall, has been canceled, organizers announced.

The event, which has been a New Orleans staple for 50 years, will be back in 2021 from April 22 – May 2, according to a festival announcement.

Tickets for the 2020 festival will be good for the 2021 Jazz Fest, the statement said, and refund information will be sent to current ticketholders by April 22. —Chris Eudaily

1:04 pm: US labs need to pivot to coronavirus testing, COO of saliva test manufacturer says

Rutgers professor Andrew Brooks, chief operating officer and director of technology development at RUCDR Infinite Biologics.

Source: Rutgers University

12:50 pm: Stocks give up gains in choppy session

12:47 pm: Homeless shelters are running low on cash and volunteers as coronavirus spreads

Homeless shelters across the country are facing volunteer shortages and increased costs as they struggle to contend with the deadly coronavirus outbreak while continuing to take in residents. 

Several shelters have made adjustments to continue offering the same services while minimizing contact. That means spreading out beds, sterilizing surfaces more frequently and offering services at a distance.

It’s been tricky for shelters around the country to adjust to new social distancing guidelines. But many have found solutions in which they’re still responding to people who need a place to stay while adhering to any government-issued advice or rules. —Yelena Dzhanova

12:26 pm: New York and other East Coast states extend shutdown of nonessential businesses to May 15, Gov. Cuomo says

New York and other East Coast states are extending their shutdown of nonessential businesses to May 15 as officials grapple with how to reopen parts of the economy without leading to a resurgence in coronavirus cases, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Cuomo announced the news at a press conference in Albany and via Twitter, saying “New York on PAUSE” will be extended in coordination with other states.  

“We have to continue doing what we’re doing. I’d like to see that infection rate get down even more. The New York Pause policies, the close-down policies, will be extended in coordination with other states to May 15,” Cuomo said. The lockdown was previously scheduled to lift on April 30. 

“So, one month, we’ll continue the close-down policies. What happens after then? I don’t know. We will see what the data shows,” Cuomo said. “I don’t want to project beyond that period.” —Noah Higgins-Dunn

12:12 pm: UK extends coronavirus lockdown measures by at least three weeks

Britain is extending its coronavirus lockdown measures by at least another three weeks, Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said.

Restrictions on public life have been in place in the U.K. since March 23. People have been told to stay at home, with the exception of limited shopping — for essential food and medical supplies — and exercise.

Government ministers previously said it was too early to lift the restrictions, as the U.K. had not yet hit the peak of its coronavirus outbreak. But Britain’s chief medical advisor, Chris Whitty, said on Wednesday that he believed the country was “probably reaching the peak.” —Ryan Browne

12:05 pm: Abbott Labs is developing new coronavirus test for mass screening as Trump seeks to reopen US economy

Abbott Laboratories says it is ramping up production of its coronavirus test kits, including a new tool that could enable mass Covid-19 screening, as President Donald Trump seeks to reopen parts of the U.S. economy as early as next month.

The company is on track to ship 4 million this month of its new antibody tests, which indicate whether a person has had Covid-19 in the past and was either asymptomatic or recovered, Abbott CEO Robert Ford said during an earnings conference call with investors Thursday. It plans to ramp up to 20 million shipments per month, beginning in June, he said, adding there’s a need to manufacture more tests. —Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

11:55 am: Switzerland to start easing COVID-19 restrictions from April 27

People walk past a red-and-white police warning tape in Plainpalais place in Geneva on April 16, 2020, during the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus, Covid-19.

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP via Getty Images

Switzerland will start gradually relaxing from April 27 the drastic restrictions it brought in last month to tackle the spread of the new coronavirus, the government said on Thursday.

Hospitals will be allowed to perform all procedures, even elective surgeries, while hair salons, massage parlours and cosmetic studies will be allowed to reopen.

This will be followed by compulsory schools, shops and markets from May 11, it added. —Reuters

11:40 am: Japan makes coronavirus emergency nationwide as Abe plans cash payouts for all

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expanded a state of emergency to include the entire country on Thursday and said the government was considering cash payouts for all in an effort to stem the coronavirus outbreak and cushion the economic downturn.

With more than 9,000 infections and nearly 200 deaths nationally, the government has declared an emergency in Tokyo and six areas including western Osaka, but other regions have sought to be added amid worries about the spreading virus.

While short of a lockdown, the state of emergency imposed for a month from April 7 gave authorities more power to push people to stay home and businesses to close. It has covered about 44% of the population up until now. —Reuters

11:21 am: What it’s like to be a delivery person during the coronavirus pandemic 

As the coronavirus has upended all of our lives and routines, we’ve become reliant upon certain essential workers to help us stay as safe and healthy as possible. Of course this includes medical professionals, who can treat those who do fall ill.

But it also includes a class of workers many of us have previously taken for granted — delivery people, who make it possible for the rest of us to stay healthy by staying home. —Katie Brigham 

11:12 am: Small business rescue loan program hits $349 billion limit and is now out of money 

The Small Business Administration’s rescue loan program hit its $349 billion limit on Thursday and is now out of money as the nation’s top Republicans and Democrats struggle to agree on how to restore its funds.

The Small Business Administration website reads that it is “unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program based on available appropriations funding. Similarly, we are unable to enroll new PPP lenders at this time.”

The announcement from the SBA on Thursday comes as scores of small American business owners work to deal with the fallout of the coronavirus and the move by some states to shutter the vast majority of commerce. —Thomas Franck, Kate Rogers 

11:03 am: NYC mayor seeks federal aid as coronavirus costs New York $7.4 billion in lost tax revenue 

The coronavirus pandemic will cost New York City a projected $7.4 billion in lost tax revenue over the current and next fiscal year after the city shuttered businesses and ordered people to stay indoors to try to contain the outbreak, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. 

De Blasio urged Washington lawmakers to approve $500 billion in spending in the next stimulus bill with at least $150 billion of that going toward states, cities and local municipalities. That would help plug holes in budgets devastated by the government quarantines and help fund needed services, including police, fire and emergency response. 

De Blasio said Congress should direct $100 billion to hospitals and health-care workers and $250 billion to small businesses and paycheck protection for workers, de Blasio said. —Noah Higgins-Dunn 

10:50 am: PGA Tour plans to resume play June 8 with events closed to general public 

PGA TOUR flag during the first round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay golf course on January 12, 2020 in Great Exuma, Bahamas.

Ben Jared | PGA TOUR via Getty Images

The PGA Tour plans to resume play June 8 with the first four events closed to the general public, according to schedule adjustments announced Thursday. 

The PGA Tour on March 12 said it canceled The Players Championship and all other events through the Valero Texas Open that ends on April 5. 

The Charles Schwab Challenge, Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide events that were previously scheduled between May 18 and June 8 have been moved to later dates in the calendar.

The RBC Heritage originally slated for April 13-19, but canceled on March 17, has been added back to the PGA Tour schedule in the week formerly occupied by the U.S. Open, which was postponed to September. —Melodie Warner 

10:25 am: Facebook will start warning people who ‘like’ or react to fake coronavirus news 

Facebook will start warning users if they have liked, reacted or commented on harmful Covid-19 posts that the company has found to be misinformation and removed. 

The feature will roll out in the coming weeks, Facebook said in a blog post

“These messages will connect people to COVID-19 myths debunked by the World Health Organization including ones we’ve removed from our platform for leading to imminent physical harm,” Guy Rosen, Facebook’s vice president of integrity, said in a blog post.

After the WHO declared Covid-19 a global health emergency in January, Facebook started removing misinformation about the outbreak from its platforms. The company said Thursday it’s removed hundreds of thousands of pieces of misinformation that could lead to physical harm, such as inaccurate content that says physical distancing is ineffective or drinking bleach cures the virus. —Jessica Bursztynsky 

9:49 am: The coronavirus pandemic isn’t hurting US auto sales as much as feared, J.D. Power says 

Sales of new vehicles to U.S. consumers declined less than expected at the beginning April despite the coronavirus outbreak and state orders keeping most dealer showrooms closed across the country, according to J.D. Power.

After U.S. auto plants closed and most states enacted “stay-at-home” directives last month, J.D. Power expected year-over-year sales to decline by as much as 80% this month compared with its prepandemic forecast. While still significantly down, sales through the first 12 days of April were only off by about 55% — indicating that sales for the full month might not be as bad as feared, the firm said Wednesday.

If that trend continues, it would mean sales of about 597,000 units in April compared with J.D. Power’s prepandemic forecast of nearly 1.1 million vehicles for the month. —Michael Wayland 

9:35 am: Stocks open slightly higher even after another dismal weekly jobs report 

Stocks opened higher even as investors digested more data reflecting the economic devastation from the coronavirus pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 44 points higher, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.1%. 

Thursday’s moves followed a slump during regular trading on Wednesday as gloomy economic data and anemic bank earnings fueled concerns over the coronavirus’s impact on the U.S. economy. —Fred Imbert, Thomas Franck 

9:18 am: The US economy will likely erase all the job gains since the financial crisis this week 

The coronavirus and the forced closure of business throughout the U.S. have nearly wiped out the totality of job gains since the Great Recession.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits totaled 5.245 million during the week ended April 11

Combined with the government’s prior three jobless claims reports, the number of Americans who have filed for unemployment over the previous four weeks is 22.025 million. That number is just below the 22.442 million jobs added to nonfarm payrolls since November 2009, when the U.S. economy first began to add jobs back to the economy after the recession. —Thomas Franck 

9:11 am: Billionaire Barry Diller says bail out everyone and ‘worry about paying the bills later’ 

Heidi Gutman | CNBC

Billionaire businessman Barry Diller told CNBC on Thursday the U.S. government should bail out all companies that have been hit hard by the coronavirus, including those in the travel industry. 

“The damage that is being done every day is enormous,” Diller said on “Squawk Box.” “Everybody needs to be bailed out for this one time thing, and we’ll worry about paying the bills later.”

The comments from Diller, chairman of travel site Expedia and digital media group IAC, came after major U.S. airlines and the Treasury Department reached a deal that gives the carriers access to loans and grants to support payroll. In return, the government gets warrants that could become equity stakes. 

Diller said Expedia is generating no revenue and will need to cut costs, including in advertising. —Jesse Pound 

9:06 am: Starbucks is preparing to reopen cafes as local coronavirus conditions allow 

Starbucks is preparing to reopen cafes as some U.S. states report that the number of new coronavirus cases has plateaued or even declined. 

The coffee chain closed most of its U.S. and Canadian cafes on March 21, limiting service to delivery and drive-thru only. More than 60% of its U.S. cafes have a drive-thru lane. Starbucks initially said the closures would be for two weeks but later extended the measures until May 3. —Amelia Lucas

9:04 am: US home construction collapsed 22.3% in March 

U.S. homebuilding activity collapsed in March as the coronavirus spread, with housing starts tumbling 22.3% from a month ago.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that groundbreakings occurred last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.2 million units, down from a 1.56 million pace in February. Construction of single-family houses fell 17.5%, while apartment and condo starts were off 32.1% from a month ago.

The report showed a 6.1% decline in the completion of homes being constructed, which means many homes are being left half built. There was also a 6.8% drop in permits to begin construction. —Associated Press 

8:56 am: Coronavirus crisis threatens to derail post-Brexit trade talks 

The U.K. will most likely fail to strike a new trade agreement with the European Union by the end of the year, analysts have told CNBC, as the coronavirus crisis threatens to derail official trade talks.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to conclude a post-Brexit trade deal this year. The U.K. is in a transition phase until December after leaving the bloc on Jan. 31. During the transition, it is working to establish trade arrangements with the 27-nation EU.

However, this timeline is now at risk after the two lead negotiators had to isolate due to Covid-19 infections. British and European negotiating teams held a call on Wednesday for the first time since both lead negotiators were forced to self-isolate. —Silvia Amaro 

8:50 am: ‘It may be in August’ — Larry Fink says businesses reluctant to reboot without mass testing 

BlackRock co-founder and CEO Larry Fink said the U.S. needs to increase its testing capacity for the coronavirus before its economy can restart in earnest. 

“We’re going to still see elements of the disease increasing in other parts of the world and until we have adequate testing, rapid testing, it’s very hard to see how we’re going to reboot in the next 30 days,” Fink said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Fink expressed confidence that the U.S. will make progress on Covid-19 treatments, minimizing the severity of the disease. “Through that process, I do believe we’ll be able to reboot. I do believe we’re going to have a better, more normalized environment,” he said. 

“But it may not be in June or July. It may be in August,” he said.

Fink, whose firm is the world’s biggest asset manager, said businesses will be “very cautious” and “protective of their employees” as they consider when and how to relax work-from-home policies. —Kevin Stankiewicz 

8:34 am: US weekly claims total 5.245 million, bringing total job losses due to coronavirus to 22 million

Protection measures against the coronavirus continued to tear through the employment ranks, with 5.245 million more Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The new filings bring the crisis total to just over 22 million, nearly wiping out all the job gains since the Great Recession.

Though the most recent total, for the week ended April 11, represented a drop from the previous two weeks, it still showed that the damage to the U.S. labor market remains profound.

The numbers of late have been bolstered by measures taken to allow more workers to file claims. They now include independent contractors and others who previously were not eligible for benefits. —Jeff Cox

8:08 am: Jeff Bezos says widespread testing needed before economy can get running again

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday that mass testing around the world for the coronavirus is needed to “get the economy back up and running.”

In his annual shareholder letter, Bezos also pointed to efforts Amazon has taken to protect its employees from the pandemic.

Bezos pointed to Amazon’s efforts to develop “incremental testing capacity,” which the company announced last week. As part of that announcement, Amazon said it hopes to begin testing all of its employees, including those who show no symptoms.

“Regular testing on a global scale, across all industries, would both help keep people safe and help get the economy back up and running,” Bezos said. “For this to work, we as a society would need vastly more testing capacity than is currently available.” —Annie Palmer

7:43 am: US hot spots span the East Coast

7:15 am: Trump to unveil reopening guidelines

President Donald Trump said he plans to release on Thursday national guidelines for reopening the economy. 

“We’ll be opening up some states much sooner than others,” he said Wednesday. “We think some of the states can actually open up before the deadline of May 1.”

The governors of seven states on the East Coast and three states on the West Coast have announced regional working groups to coordinate the reopening of the regions. With the exception of Massachusetts, all 10 states actively developing plans to reopen are led by Democratic governors. —Will Feuer

7:06 am: China races toward a vaccine

Sinovac CEO Yin Weidong.

Three Chinese companies have vaccine candidates in clinical trials, CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reports from Beijing. One company, Nasdaq-listed Sinovac, has already started enlisting volunteers to receive the first experimental doses. The company aims to complete safety and efficacy trials by June.

The Chinese government has allocated land for mass production of a successful vaccine candidate once it’s ready, Yoon reports, and has expedited the approval process for human clinical trials. —Will Feuer

7:03 am: UK set to extend lockdown for three more weeks

Dominic Raab, who is deputizing for Prime Minister Boris Johnson while he is recovering from a serious case of Covid-19, is meeting government ministers Thursday, and is chairing a meeting of its emergency response committee.

It’s widely expected that the country’s lockdown will be extended for three weeks, amid stark warnings that the U.K. could end up being the worst hit country from the coronavirus in Europe.

The U.K.’s top medical expert said Wednesday that the country is probably seeing its peak of the virus (the death toll currently stands at 12,868 in British hospitals, with 761 daily deaths reported Wednesday), but it is too early to consider lifting lockdown measures that have been in place since March 23. — Holly Ellyatt

6:35 am: Spain’s daily death toll rises slightly

The number of daily deaths in Spain has risen slightly, according to health ministry data.

In the past day, 551 people have died from the coronavirus, bringing the total death toll to 19,130. The daily death toll on Wednesday was 523.

The overall number of infections now stands at 182,816, the ministry said, 5,183 more cases than yesterday. —Holly Ellyatt

5:40 am: WHO says coming weeks are ‘critical’ as Europe’s cases near 1 million

The World Health Organization’s European regional director said that in the past 10 days, the number of confirmed cases in Europe has doubled to reach almost 1 million.

WHO’s Hans Kluge told reporters in an online briefing that this meant about 50% of the global burden of Covid-19 was in Europe, where he said more than 84,000 have died from the virus.

“The storm clouds of this pandemic still hang heavily over the European region,” Kluge said, according to Reuters. Commenting on the gradual lifting of restrictions on public life, Kluge said “there is no fast track back to normal.” —Holly Ellyatt

4:30 am: Dutch study suggests 3% of population might have antibodies

A study of Dutch blood donors has found that around 3% have developed antibodies against Covid-19, health authorities said, Reuters reported. The findings give an indication of what percentage of the Dutch population may have already had the disease.

The head of the National Institute for Health disclosed the results during a debate with parliament.

“This study shows that about 3% of Dutch people have developed antibodies against the coronavirus,” Jaap van Dissel said, the news agency reported. “You can calculate from that, it’s several hundred thousand people,” in a country of 17 million. —Holly Ellyatt

Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: WHO says coming weeks are ‘critical’ as Europe’s cases near 1 million

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