Coronavirus live updates: Harvard orders students to vacate, don’t fall for the sanitizer hype

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 114,578, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
• Global deaths: At least 4,028, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
• US cases: At least 755, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
• US deaths: At least 26, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, a health ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

The patient is a Belgian citizen, who has been placed in quarantine after testing positive for the virus at the airport of the capital Kinshasa, the spokeswoman said. —Reuters

Target detailed the steps it’s taking to keep its stores safe amid the virus outbreak. Among the steps it’s outlined is adding staff hours to put more effort toward cleaning. Target CEO Brian Cornell said the company is wiping down checkout lanes and touchscreens at least every 30 minutes. Food sampling at stores has been halted and the retailer is prepping for more demand for its order pickup and drive-up services. Over the weekend, Target put in place product limits for on-demand items like cleaning products. —Cheddar Berk

Will corporate VPNs – virtual private networks – be able to handle the strain caused by thousands of telecommuting employees? We may be about to find out, as companies plan to have their workers stay home to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

VPNs, which protect information sent between employees and businesses, are secured web connections used by more than 400 million businesses and consumers worldwide according to GlobalWebTKIndex. VPNs help companies encrypt data and scan devices for malware to prevent hacking threats. The global VPN market, which was valued at $15 billion in 2016, is set to grow from an estimated $20.6 billion in 2018 to nearly $36 billion in 2022, Orbis Research and Statista forecast.

Testing corporate VPNs will reveal whether existing networks are up to the challenge of suddenly supporting a large remote workforce. Daryl Plummer, VP, analyst, and Gartner Fellow at the research and advisory firm Gartner, said that in some cases, VPNs could become overloaded from spikes in traffic. —Bukszpan

As COVID-19 spreads to new areas of the country, educators are faced with a race against time to come up with contingency plans that would allow learning to continue should schools close. There’s also the issue of student services, especially providing nutrition. Thirty million children receive free or reduced lunches on a daily basis at schools across the country, according to government data.

Virtual learning has emerged as an early answer, however many districts lack the technology, teacher training and, in some cases, broadband internet access to deliver those lessons.

Some are preemptively shutting down for a day or more to allow teachers time to prepare physical packets to be sent home with students, said Domenech, whose organization is coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and districts across the country on their response to the coronavirus. —Young

It’s no secret hand sanitizer has been selling out at a number of stores, and when investors are thinking about the companies that could benefit from the trend they may consider L Brands’ Bath & Body Works brand. Jefferies analyst Randal Konik says, yes sanitizer products are sold out at BBW. com, but the category is only 5% of Bath & Body Works sales.

“We don’t see the business helping drive attachment purchases because regular hand soap products are still on shelves and are not sold out online. This means consumers are using laser precision to shop for sanitizer and not much else so the upside factor from sanitzer may not be what the bulls expect,” he wrote in a research note. Konik has an “underperform” rating on the the stock. L Brands shares are up about 17% since the start of the year, and nearly 5% today. The company is in the process of selling its Victoria’s Secret business. —Cheddar Berk

Two cruise ship passengers tested negative for the coronavirus in the French Mediterranean city of Marseille after they fell ill with flu-like symptoms, Reuters reported.

The remaining passengers were being kept on board the German-owned AIDAsol, which was being held off the city’s shores, Marseille port officials said. The 253-meter long AIDAsol is operated by AIDA Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corp., and can carry more than 2,000 passengers. It arrived in Marseille from Spain. The vessel tracking website MarineTraffic showed it anchored about 3 km outside the port of Marseille. —Reuters

Harvard University students have been asked to move out of their houses and first-year dorms by Sunday, March 15, and is moving all of its classes online for the remainder of the semester in an attempt to prevent the coronavirus from infecting its campus, according to an email from University President Lawrence Bacow. Harvard has also asked students not to return from spring break, which officially begins Saturday, and now strongly discourages group gatherings of more than 25 people. —Russo (Editor’s note: This post has been updated to reflect the university’s decision to have students vacate the campus by March 15.)

Spanish soccer league La Liga announced it will play matches behind closes doors for at least two weeks starting Tuesday. 

“LaLiga will continue to be in permanent contact with the Ministry of Health and the CSD to follow its recommendations and/or decisions, prioritizing the health of fans, players, club employees, journalists, etc., due to the COVID-19 health crisis,” the organization said in an English statement. “For several weeks, LaLiga has been working on alternative plans in coordination with UEFA in case health authorities decide to suspend any match, creating a plan to play these matches.” 

The league is home to international powerhouse teams like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid C.F. The move follows similar measures by soccer leagues in France and Italy. —Salinas 

Austria is banning indoor events of more than 100 people and outdoor events of more than 500 in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said.

The measure is part of a package that also includes denying entry to people arriving from Italy with only a few exceptions. The measures were announced by Nehammer and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz at a joint news conference. —Reuters

An Apple employee in Ireland has tested positive for coronavirus, the company said. It’s the first known infection of one of Apple’s employees.

“One of our employees in Cork has been confirmed to have Covid-19,” Apple told CNBC. “We are closely coordinating with the local health authorities who feel the risk to others is low, and the individual remains in self-isolation. As a precaution, we have asked some of our team members to stay at home while we work with the Health and Safety Executive to assess the situation. We are continuing to regularly deep clean all our offices and stores and will take all necessary precautions in accordance with guidance from health authorities.” —Haselton

Japan’s Osaka prefecture on Tuesday reported 18 new cases of coronavirus infections including multiple cases linked to live music venues that have been identified as hot spots in the region, public broadcaster NHK said.

As of Monday, all but six of Osaka’s 55 infections have been linked to one or several of four small “live houses” in Osaka city. —Reuters

The coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. could be as severe as it was in Wuhan, China, Johns Hopkins University’s Dr. Marty Makary told CNBC on Tuesday. “What happened in Wuhan could happen here. Why do we think otherwise?” he said on “Squawk Box.” “The American immune system is not stronger than the Chinese immune system.” —Stankiewicz

Two cruise ship passengers were being tested for the coronavirus in the French Mediterranean city of Marseille after they fell ill with flu-like symptoms, the local health authority said.

The remaining passengers were being kept on board the German-owned AIDAsol, which was being held off the city’s shores, Marseille port officials said. The 830-foot-long AIDAsol is operated by AIDA Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corp., and can carry more than 2,000 passengers.

It arrived in Marseille from Spain. The vessel tracking website MarineTraffic showed it anchored about 2 miles outside the port of Marseille. —Reuters

Delta Air Lines said Tuesday it will make deep cuts throughout its network to reduce costs as coronavirus drives down demand for air travel. The carrier’s announcement follows similar measures taken by American, United and JetBlue.

The Atlanta-based carrier said it is reducing its international flying by as much as 25% and domestic capacity by 10% to 15%, among some of the deepest cuts announced in the U.S. so far.

Demand has dropped sharply in the past few days as more cases of coronavirus have been reported in the U.S. and booking trends will likely worsen, CEO Ed Bastian said at a JPMorgan industry conference. —Josephs

The White House is far from ready to roll out specific economic proposals in its response to the widening impact of the coronavirus outbreak, administration officials told CNBC. The revelation comes as U.S. stock futures pointed toward a rebound at the open Tuesday following President Donald Trump’s suggestion Monday night that a payroll tax cut and other stimulus measures may be in the works.

However, inside the administration, some officials were stunned by Trump’s claim that he would hold a press conference Tuesday to announce an economic plan as the actual details remain up in the air. “That was news to everyone on the inside,” one official said. The actual details of any plan remain up in the air. “It’s not there right now,” an official said. “A lot of details need to be worked out.”

A virus task force press conference scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET. It’s possible the White House will have more details on the economic proposals Trump mentioned Monday, but anything involving federal spending or taxes will require congressional action, so it will not be immediate. —Javers, Calia

American Airlines is slashing international and domestic flights as demand falls amid the coronavirus epidemic, the carrier said Tuesday. The move follows similar measures announced last week by JetBlue and United.

U.S. carriers had previously reduced flying to China, where the virus was first detected, and elsewhere in Asia, but its rapid spread has hurt demand for flying more broadly, prompting deeper and more generalized cuts. American said it will shave 10% off its peak summer international flying, one of the clearest signs yet that airline executives expect the coronavirus’ impact on the business to last longer than expected. —Josephs

Darden Restaurants said it is providing paid sick leave for hourly workers across all of its chains, which include Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse. Employees will accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 worked, and the pay rate will be based on the worker’s 13-week average.

The company said it has been working on the policy for a while, but speeded up the process due to the outbreak. Popular Information, a politics-focused newsletter, recently reported on Darden’s lack of paid sick leave, which is common in the restaurant industry but could deter ill employees from calling out sick. —Lucas

Stock futures rallied back after the S&P 500′s worst day since the 2008 financial crisis as investors cheered potential stimulative measures to stem the economic downturn from the coronavirus. Around 7 a.m. ET Tuesday, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated an opening surge of about 1,000 points on Tuesday. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also pointed to a sharply higher open.

President Donald Trump on Monday floated the idea of “a payroll tax cut or relief” to offset the negative impact from COVID-19. The potential tax incentives come on top of an $8.3 billion spending package Trump signed last week. —Imbert
Correction: This item was revised to correct when Trump singed the $8.3 billion package. It was last week.

Iran’s death toll climbed by 54 to 291 total, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said. That’s an 18% increase in death from the day before. The virus has infected at least 8,040 people across the country, he said, which is the hardest-hit country in the Middle East by the virus. —Feuer

It’s taking longer for Chinese migrant workers this year to return to their jobs in larger cities, as the virus outbreak has restricted travel throughout the country. As of March 5, the number of migrant workers from poor households was 14.2 million, 52% of what it was last year, said Su Guoxia, spokeswoman of the State Council’s Poverty Alleviation Office.

“Not only have they left later, but there’s not as many as last year,” she said, according to a CNBC translation of her Mandarin-language remarks. She also noted that spring plowing has been affected, while blocks in logistics channels have prevented the flow of agricultural products, directly affecting the income of poor households.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced 2020 is the year China will eliminate poverty. As of the end of last year, 5.51 million people still lived in poverty, according to official figures. Su said Tuesday the start of some poverty alleviation programs have been delayed, and only about a third have begun work. —Cheng

The last of the 14 makeshift hospitals in Wuhan city, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak, discharged its final patient on Tuesday afternoon, according to state media. The city had opened the makeshift, or “cabin” hospitals, on Feb. 5 and these re-purposed venues have treated more than 12,000 people with mild cases of the virus, according to CCTV. Last week, other Chinese media reports noted that at least one such hospital warned of an increasing number of relapses among discharged patients. —Cheng

Japan has unveiled a second package of measures worth about $4 billion in spending to cope with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported. The measures, published Tuesday, focus on support to small and midsize firms. The package aims to boost growth and stave off corporate bankruptcies as Japan’s economy suffers from a decline in tourism amid the outbreak. The government will tap the rest of this fiscal year’s budget reserve of about 270 billion yen to help fund the package, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, Reuters reported. —Ellyatt

Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Japan unveils $4 billion aid package to help economy

Reuters and CNBC’s Saheli Roy Choudhury, Leslie Josephs, Eamon Javers, Mike Calia, Holly Ellyatt, Evelyn Cheng, Fred Imbert, Amelia Lucas, Todd Haselton, Sara Salinas, Donovan Russo, Christina Chedder Berk, Katie Young, Daniel Bukszpan, and Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.