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 885,000
- Global deaths: At least 44,000
- US cases: At least 190,000
- US deaths: At least 4,100
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
12:27 pm: These states could be hit with the biggest jobs losses from the coronavirus pandemic
When the Coronavirus pandemic eventually subsides, the economic impact will be felt unevenly from one part of the country to another.
The regions feeling the biggest impact may also see the fastest growth when they recover, according to an analysis Wednesday from IHS Markit
“The states and metros hit hardest will generally be among the fastest growing over the ensuing recovery as activity that fell most sharply during the downturn has the greatest room for growth as conditions normalize,” IHS Markit economist Karl Kuykendall wrote in the report. —John Schoen
12:18 pm: Dollar Tree CEO says supply chains stressed — but $1 billion of goods in ‘pipeline somewhere’
Dollar Tree CEO Gary Philbin said the retailer’s supply chains have “been stressed” from a spike in coronavirus-related demand, but he sought to reassure customers that more products are on their way.
“As our trucks show up to stores we probably have enough for a day or a day and a half, but more is coming,” Philbin said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “We’ve called out, and we have $1 billion in the pipeline somewhere.”
Employees at Dollar Tree’s 24 distribution centers in the country have been working seven days a week to send shipments to stores, Philbin said. Dollar Tree, which also owns Family Dollar, has about 15,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada.
“Our vendor partners have ramped up. It’s coming. It’s just that it’s not going to be enough for the next few weeks, but there is enough coming overall,” Philbin said. “The levels on shelves are going to get better and better as we go through this.” —Kevin Stankiewicz
12:10 pm: Number of global cases reaches 885,000
11:59 am: Spring break canceled in New York
A portion of Park Avenue, between 28th Street and 34th Street closed to motorists to promote ‘Social Distancing’ amid Coronavirus(Covid-19) Pandemic on March 30, 2020.
John Nacion | NurPhoto | Getty Images
New York is canceling spring break for public and charter schools across the state. Remote learning will continue during these weeks of April amid the coronavirus pandemic. Spring break for New York City public schools was scheduled to be from April 9 to 17.
“Districts must continue to provide remote instruction for students, meals for students, and child care for essential workers every weekday between April 1, 2020 and April 14, 2020, even if the district is scheduled to be on spring break during that time,” the New York State Education Department said in a memo.
Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, sent an email to New York City teachers saying that they will be off from April 9 to April 12 for religious holidays. Mulgrew also added that the week of April 13 will be a “special week of family service and support.” —Jasmine Kim
11:53 am: Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat says bank is ‘working around the clock’ on small business relief program
Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat said the bank is “working around the clock” on an online portal for the new $349 billion small business relief program.
The program, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said will be up on Friday, is meant to enable struggling businesses to retain employees by applying for loans that are forgiven if used for workers’ payroll. It was a key part of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill signed by President Trump last week.
The bank is “making sure that we’ve got the digital interface set up so that people can apply online, we can get the documentation we need online for the vast majority of these loans, and we can get this money into small businesses hands as quickly as we can,” Corbat said Wednesday in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer. —Hugh Son
11:41 am: Wimbledon 2020 tennis championships canceled due to coronavirus
The 2020 Championships Wimbledon have been canceled due to public health concerns linked to the coronavirus epidemic.
The Championships were scheduled to be held from Monday, June 29 through Sunday, July 12. The 134th tournament will now be held between June 28 and July 11, 2021.
“This is a decision that we have not taken lightly, and we have done so with the highest regard for public health and the wellbeing of all those who come together to make Wimbledon happen,” Ian Hewitt, chairman of the Main Board of the All England Club, said.
The Wimbledon website says that people who paid for tickets in the Wimbledon Public Ballot will be refunded. They’ll have a chance to buy tickets for The Championships in 2021. —Todd Haselton
11:27 am: Carnival cruise passengers plead for entry into Florida port
More than 1,400 passengers on the Carnival-owned MS Zaandam are pleading with Florida to allow them in. But officials, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, say the state simply does not have the resources to take on an extra burden amid a growing health crisis.
“We cannot afford to have people who are not even Floridians dumped into South Florida using up those valuable resources,” DeSantis told Fox News on Monday.
Four people have died on the ship, at least two from the coronavirus, nine others have tested positive and 179 others are experiencing flu-like symptoms. The vessel left Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 7 and was scheduled to end its voyage in Chile on March 21. Passengers were supposed to have disembarked in Chile but were turned away. —NBCNews
11:14 am: More than 1,000 New York City police officers have the coronavirus
More than 1,000 New York City police officers have contracted COVID-19 as emergency calls in the city hit record highs.
Of the New York Police Department’s more than 36,000 employees, 1,048 officers and 145 civilian employees have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, NYPD said in a statement. The department added that 5,657 uniformed officers, or more than 15% of the force, called out sick on Tuesday.
Officials from the Fire Department of New York told NBC News that 282 members, including firefighters, EMTs and civilians, have tested positive for COVID-19. At the same time, 911 call volume is hitting record daily highs, the Fire Department said.
There were 6,527 medical calls to 911 placed on Monday and over the past few days, the FDNY has had to “hold” hundreds of calls, according to NBC News. This means that lower priority sick calls have to wait for ambulances. —William Feuer
11:07 am: Criminals posing as Treasury Department officials in new email stimulus scam
Criminals posing as U.S. Treasury officials are sending emails requesting that victims provide personal information in order to receive COVID-19 stimulus money, according to a U.S. Secret Service alert obtained by CNBC on Wednesday.
“As with other aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, fraudsters are exploiting the relief and stimulus to victimize the public. The U.S. Secret Service is observing a rise in stimulus relief fraud over the past several days and expect the fraud attempts to continue throughout the pandemic,” the alert said.
The alert, sent to law enforcement and banking officials, said the phony emails, which appear to come from the U.S. Treasury, state that, “You are among the First Email ID Batch to receive payment of $450,000 on this exercise, the purpose of these funds is to give relief to the global citizens of the world due to coronavirus pandemic…”
The email goes on to say, “You have been assigned a Senior supervisor Agent who will handle your filing and also monitor the processing of your funds release.”The email asks for personal information including the recipient’s name, address, date of birth, and profession. —Scott Zamost
10:36 am: Home Depot asks employees to check temperature before work, limits customer traffic
An employee wears an orange Home Depot Inc. apron at a store in New York.
Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Home Depot is distributing thermometers to employees who work in stores and distribution centers. The home improvement retailer is asking employees to use the forehead thermometers at home to check for a fever, a symptom of COVID-19.
Home Depot will also limit the number of customers to 100 people at a time. Other customers will be asked to wait outside and remain socially distanced from one another, company spokeswoman Sara Gorman said. Its stores average 100 square feet.
Home Depot has about 400,000 store employees in the U.S. —Melissa Repko
10:12 am: March’s ISM manufacturing index signals contraction as coronavirus hits economy
U.S. manufacturing activity contracted in March as the coronavirus outbreak continues to pressure the economy, data released Wednesday by the Institute for Supply Management showed.
The ISM manufacturing index fell to 49.1 last month from 50.1 in February. Activity was driven down by a steep decline in new orders and production, the data showed.
“The coronavirus pandemic and shocks in global energy markets have impacted all manufacturing sectors,” said Timothy Fiore, chair of the Institute for Supply Management, in a statement. —Fred Imbert
10:02 am: Coronavirus is a ‘common invisible enemy’ and coordinated efforts are needed, NATO’s chief says
The ongoing health crisis is a “common invisible enemy” and a synchronized response is needed, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNBC.
Since it was first detected in China towards the end of last year, the coronavirus has infected close to 880,000 people and killed at least 43,500, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. It has overwhelmed health systems, sent countries into lockdown and prompted monetary and fiscal measures from authorities.
He said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) main task was to ensure terrorist organizations and other adversaries were not taking advantage of the pandemic, but it also had a role to play in supporting civilian efforts to tackle the spread of the disease. —Abigail Ng
9:52 am: Comcast CEO Brian Roberts pledges $500 million for employees whose jobs are impacted by coronavirus
Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts has committed $500 million to support employees as coronavirus quarantines temporarily shut down business units.
Roberts said Comcast would put aside $500 million in pay and benefits for employees “where operations have been paused or impacted.” He also said he would join Comcast’s senior executives — Chief Financial Officer Mike Cavanagh, Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell and Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch — in donating 100% of their salaries to charities to support coronvirus relief efforts.
Comcast has seen its broadband usage spike as Americans largely stay at home during COVID-19 quarantines. —Alex Sherman
9:41 am: Reported cases in US outpacing other countries
9:33 am: Dow tumbles 800 points to start second quarter as Trump warns of ‘very painful two weeks’
Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as Wall Street begins the second quarter on a sour note amid mounting concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday evening the U.S. should prepare for a “very, very painful two weeks” from the rampant coronavirus. White House officials are projecting between 100,000 and 240,000 virus deaths in the U.S.
The Dow fell 410 points or 1.8%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.6% to close out their worst first-quarter performances of all time. The Dow fell more than 23% in the first quarter; that was also its biggest quarterly fall since 1987. The S&P 500 fell 20% in the first quarter, its worst first quarter ever and its biggest quarterly loss since 2008. —Fred Imbert, Maggie Fitzgerald
9:27 am: Travelers through TSA checkpoints dropped to 10-year low Tuesday
The Transportation Security Administration said 146,348 passengers went through a TSA checkpoint on Tuesday, setting a new record low for the past 10 years. About 2.03 million travelers were screened on the same day a year earlier. —Melodie Warner
9:09 am: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson coronavirus relief golf match could happen in May
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson look on prior to The Match: Tiger vs Phil at Shadow Creek Golf Course on November 23, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Harry How | Getty Images
NFL icons Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will join superstars Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in a golf match organized by AT&T’s WarnerMedia and the PGA Tour, a person familiar with the negotiations confirmed to CNBC.
The match pitting Mickelson-Brady against Woods-Manning would be a rare sporting event in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has spurred game cancellations and suspensions across professional sports.
The person, who requested to not be identified as negotiations are still being finalized, said the event would likely happen in May and would benefit charity. —Jabari Young
8:58 am: UK banks scrap dividends as recession fears build across Europe
Some of the U.K.’s biggest lenders have agreed to scrap billions of pounds of payments to shareholders following pressure from the Bank of England (BOE).
Barclays, Santander, Lloyds, NatWest, Standard Chartered and HSBC confirmed late on Tuesday that they will not be paying out dividends in 2020, after the central bank’s Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) urged British commercial banks to preserve capital in order to help support the economy during the likely recession arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
The BOE has also urged banks to ditch bonuses for top executives. —Elliot Smith
8:26 am: Dow futures fall 800 points
8:19 am: US companies cut 27,000 jobs before the worst of the coronavirus shutdown hit
Companies reduced payrolls by 27,000 in early March before the worst of the coronavirus-induced economic freeze, according to a report from ADP and Moody’s Analytics.
Actual losses for the month were far worse as indicated by the millions of people who already have filed unemployment claims. Wednesday’s report covers the period through March 12.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast a loss of 125,000 jobs. However, the March ADP count as well as Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report cover periods before the government instituted social distancing measures that have shut down large parts of the U.S. economy.
The March ADP number comes after a February gain of 179,000, revised lower from the initially reported 183,000. —Jeff Cox
7:19 am: Mortgage applications to buy a home plummet 24%
More borrowers are refinancing to save money on monthly payments, while potential homebuyers are backing away fast from purchases as the coronavirus outbreak puts the brakes on home sales.
Driven entirely by refinancing, total mortgage application volume increased 15.3% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was 67% higher than one year ago, when interest rates were higher.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 11% last week and were 24% lower than a year ago. Real estate agents and homebuilders have reported a sharp drop in buyer interest, and open houses and model homes are shuttering. Some potential buyers are doing virtual tours, but the demand is not even close to normal spring volume. —Diana Olick
6:36 am: Spain has more than 100,000 cases, record daily death toll
A man wearing a face mask is wheeled into La Paz hospital on March 23, 2020 in Madrid, Spain.
Denis Doyle | Getty Images
Spain now has 102,136 coronavirus cases, its health ministry reported, with the number of fatalities over the last 24 hours increasing by a record 864 people. That brought the country’s death toll to 9,053. The total number of cases rose by 7,719 from Tuesday. —Holly Ellyatt
6 am: UK urges hospitals to increase testing
The U.K.’s health minister has asked hospitals to use spare laboratory space to test front-line and self-isolating National Health Service staff for coronavirus, amid concerns of a lack of testing for health-care workers, and potentially unnecessary staff absences.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock called for more testing of health providers as pressure grows on the government over its small amount of testing compared with other countries, like Germany. Another government minister, Michael Gove, said the U.K. had to go “further, faster” to increase testing. —Holly Ellyatt
5:03 am: Indonesia set to open emergency hospital on uninhabited island
An Indonesian health official monitors as passengers from an international flight have their temperature checked as they pass a thermal scanner monitor upon arrival at the Adisucipto International Airport on January 23, 2020 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Ulet Ifansasti | Getty Images
Indonesia plans to open a coronavirus emergency hospital on the uninhabited island of Galang by next week, Reuters reported. The authorities have repurposed a former Vietnam War-era refugee camp to quickly help improve health-care capacities.
Indonesia has recorded 1,677 cases of coronavirus as of Wednesday, and 157 deaths — the highest mortality rate in Southeast Asia. It’s believed the infection rate among Indonesia’s population of 260 million could be substantially higher, while official data from mid-March shows the country had only about 12 hospital beds per 10,000 people. —Holly Ellyatt
Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Spain now has more than 100,000 cases, sees record daily death toll
