This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are in Eastern daylight time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.
- Global cases: More than 119,476, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
- Global deaths: At least 4,291, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
- US cases: At least 1,039, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
- US deaths: At least 29, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
10:08 am: NYU doctor says US hospitals are unprepared and will be ‘flooded’
Coronavirus patients could so overwhelm U.S. hospitals that doctors and nurses would be unable to provide adequately for other patients, an infectious disease specialist told CNBC.
“When you have emergency rooms flooded with patients, it makes it harder for us to attend to all the other issues,” Dr. Celine Gounder said in a “Squawk Box” interview. “If you come in with a heart attack, we’re going to be slower taking care of you and we’re going to be sloppier with our own infection control if we’re overwhelmed.”
The U.S. has fewer doctors per person and fewer hospital beds per person than Italy, said Gounder, a clinical assistant professor of medicine and infectious diseases at New York University.
“We have less capacity to absorb a big surge in cases,” she said. “We need to be preparing for that.” —Feuer
10:02 am: Now you can follow the outbreak through Apple News on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac
Apple has updated the free Apple News application, which is available on iPhones, iPads, and Macs, with a dedicated section for coronavirus coverage. It will help folks find important information about the outbreak from trusted news sources.
It’s another example of how tech companies, while in some cases imperfect, are trying to help provide information to millions of their customers using the power of their platforms. —Haselton
9:58 am: Three TSA airport screeners in California test positive
Three airport security screeners based at Mineta San Jose International Airport in California have tested positive for the virus, the Transportation Security Administration.
The three TSA agents are being treated for the illness and are quarantined at home, the agency said in a statement. Security checkpoints at the California airport are still open.
“The agency is working with the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), as well as the California Department of Public Health and the Santa Clara County Public Health Department to monitor the situation as well as the health and safety of our employees and the traveling public,” it said. —Josephs
9:52 am: Walmart, Starbucks, and others cope with sick workers and fearful customers
As the coronavirus outbreak spreads in the U.S., some retailers and customer service-related companies are dealing with a new challenge: Some of their workers are getting sick. A Walmart store employee in Kentucky, a Starbucks barista in Seattle, and an Uber driver in Queens, N.Y., have all tested positive for the virus. Waffle House said Tuesday that a Georgia restaurant was closed and cleaned after an employee became sick with the coronavirus, too, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Walmart and Starbucks said they’ve consulted with public health officials, cleaned affected stores and had employees close to the sick workers self-quarantine. Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness, said companies need to tell customers about sick workers, but recommended a measured approach. He said it may help to share specifics, such as the status of employees who may have been exposed and details of how they cleaned a store. But, Redlener acknowledged, the disclosure “still may keep people out of the store.” —Repko
9:42 am: Fiat Chrysler idling Italian plants as coronavirus outbreak intensifies
Fiat Chrysler said Wednesday it will “intensify measures” against the spread of the coronavirus in Italy.
The actions include temporarily shutting down production at four plants in the country for two or three days.
The new measures come as Italy has now 10,149 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus, according to Johns Hopkins University and Italy’s civil protection agency. —Wayland
9:35 am: Iran says virus kills 63 more, death toll climbs to 354
The death toll in Iran from the new coronavirus climbed for another consecutive day, killing 62 more people in the past 24 hours as the government on Wednesday raised the nationwide death toll to 354.
Iran’s Health Ministry said the deaths are among some 9,000 confirmed cases in Iran, where the virus has spread to all of the country’s provinces.
Across the Mideast, the vast majority of the 9,700 people who have contracted the coronavirus and the COVID-19 illness it causes are in hard-hit Iran or had recently returned from there. The Islamic Republic has one of the world’s worst death tolls outside of China, the epicenter of the outbreak. Outside of Iran, only Iraq, Egypt, and Lebanon have recorded deaths from the virus in the Middle East.
There are concerns that the number of infections across Iran is much higher than the confirmed cases reported by the government, which is struggling to contain or manage its spread. The rising casualty figures each day in Iran suggest the fight against the new coronavirus is far from over. —Associated Press
9:30 am: Dow plunges as Wall Street’s wild trading streak continues
Stocks plummeted in another volatile session as Wall Street worried about a possible fiscal stimulus package aimed at curbing slower economic growth due to the coronavirus outbreak.
President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday a 0% payroll tax rate that could last until the end of the year, however the timing of such policies being implemented remains uncertain.
“Markets seem disappointed that the White House did not release details of its fiscal response to the coronavirus,” said Brian Gardner, a Washington policy analyst at KBW. “We are still in early days and policymakers are continuing to grapple with different options and negotiate between the two parties and between Congress and the administration.” —Imbert
9:14 am: Bakeries see thousands in Pi Day sales vanish as virus spreads
Pie shops in New York, Seattle, and San Francisco are losing thousands of dollars in sales for Pi Day, the international holiday celebrated on March 14 to commemorate the mathematical constant. Companies have canceled orders as offices close and employees work remotely.
Three Babes Bakeshop in San Francisco, for example, has furloughed the majority of employees as it loses out on Pi Day revenue and routine corporate sales to tech companies that cater to employee meals. —Lucas
9:11 am: Why people are panic buying and stockpiling toilet paper
Panic buying has been rife amid the global spread of the coronavirus, with consumers around the world stockpiling goods like hand sanitizer, canned foods, and toilet paper.
The trend has seen stores ration products, with U.K. retailers limiting sales of hand hygiene products while Australian shoppers have seen restrictions on the amount of toilet paper they can buy.
According to Paul Marsden, a consumer psychologist at the University of the Arts London, the short answer can be found in the psychology of “retail therapy” — where we buy to manage our emotional state. “It’s about ‘taking back control’ in a world where you feel out of control,” he said. “More generally, panic buying can be understood as playing to our three fundamental psychology needs.” —Chloe Taylor
9:06 am: Urban Outfitters store traffic hit by virus, including Milan and Seattle
Urban Outfitters said Wednesday it has seen store traffic fall off in areas hit by the coronavirus, including Milan and Seattle, and “a few additional locations.” “We have not seen a significant impact to stores in other locations or to our digital channel,” the company said. Because the situation is so fluid in the U.S. and Europe, Urban said it is not yet forecasting how COVID-19 will hit its first-quarter earnings. The company joins a list of retailers including Under Armour and Macy’s that are planning for a sales hit and supply chain disruption. —Thomas
8:48 am: New York state recalculates revenue forecasts
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked Treasurer Tom DiNapoli to reexamine the state’s revenue forecasts given the stock market rout as well as the outbreak’s impact on local restaurants, hotels and other sectors. “As you know the world has changed in just the past few days and weeks. The world financial market volatility will no doubt impact our economic growth forecast for the next state fiscal year and revenue from the financial sector,” Cuomo said in a letter sent Tuesday to DiNapoli. Cuomo said the state’s recently completed revenue forecasts could be wrong, given the rapid spread of the virus and disruption to local businesses. —Kopecki
7:58 am: Merkel says most Germans will get infected
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speeches during her meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) at Meseberg governmental house August 18, 2018 in Gransee, Germany.
Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images
Up to 70% of Germany’s population is likely to be infected with the coronavirus, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday. Since there’s no cure, she said, the focus must be on slowing its spread.
“When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60% to 70% of the population will be infected,” she told a news conference in Berlin. “The process has to be focused on not overburdening the health system by slowing the virus’s spread. … It’s about winning time.”
The remarks come as local authorities in Germany reported the third death in the country of a COVID-19 patient. Germany has at least 1,613 cases of the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University. —Reuters
7:08 am: US cases surpass 1,000, up tenfold from a week ago
A woman visits Times Square as she wears a face mask on March 8, 2020 in New York City.
Kena Betancur | Getty Images
COVID-19 cases surpassed 1,000 in the United States overnight as the coronavirus sweeps across the country. The virus is now present in at least 35 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost half of all U.S. cases are in Washington state, California and New York, where the governors have declared states of emergency to free up funding for communities battling outbreaks. There were just over 100 confirmed cases in the U.S. on March 4, according to the World Health Organization. —Feuer
6:37 am: Italy hikes response spending to $28 billion, says further restrictions could come
An employee of the municipal company Veritas sprays disinfectant in public areas at the Rialto Bridge in Venice on March 11, 2020.
MARCO SABADIN
6:14 am: Beijing city tightens travel restrictions for all inbound travelers
A Chinese woman slides steam buns down a ramp used to prevent touching and contact as the customer takes his order at a local take out on February 19, 2020 in Beijing, China.
Kevin Frayer | Getty Images
China’s capital city said all travelers from overseas must self-quarantine for 14 days at home or in a hotel, regardless of whether their country of origin has been hit seriously by COVID-19. Previously, the municipal authorities said the quarantine applied only to travelers from high-risk countries. The policy change came after the city reported Tuesday that all six new confirmed of coronavirus cases were from people returning from abroad, five from Italy and one from the U.S. —Wu
6:07 am: IHS Markit lowers global growth forecasts
Economic research firm IHS Markit estimates that global growth in 2020 will be 1.7%, compared with 2.5% in its February forecast, and 2.7% in 2021 versus an earlier forecast of 2.8%.
“While the U.S. economy will be hurt by the effects of the virus, we believe that the momentum of the economy is strong enough to avoid a recession,” its chief economists said Wednesday. “Europe is likely to be harder hit, with Germany and Italy in or near recession before the epidemic. This could well drag the rest of the euro zone into recession.” —Ellyatt
Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Italy hikes spending to tackle virus, says further restrictions could come
Reuters and CNBC’s Saheli Roy Choudhury, Yen Nee Lee, Lauren Thomas, Chloe Taylor, Amelia Lucas, Fred Imbert, Michael Wayland, Melissa Repko, Leslie Josephs, and Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.
