Coronavirus live updates: Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson released from hospital, oil prices could hit teens

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 183,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
• Global deaths: At least 7,167, according to Johns Hopkins University.
• U.S. cases: At least 4,661, according to Johns Hopkins University.
• U.S. deaths: At least 85, according to Johns Hopkins University.

A monthly measure of homebuilder sentiment only partially reflected the escalating economic effects of the coronavirus. Sentiment fell 2 points to 72 in March, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

Sentiment levels have stayed in a tight range in the low- to mid-70s for the past six months. Anything above 50 is considered positive. The HMI stood at 62 in March 2019.

Potential buyers worry about being out in public and about their financial health, as the stock market craters and businesses shut down. Real estate agents for existing homes saw a significant slowdown in buyer traffic at Sunday open houses this past weekend. Some companies have chosen to cancel open houses. —Diana Olick

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins told CNBC on Tuesday that the company’s video conferencing platform Webex saw a surge in user activity since the beginning of the month due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“In the first 11 business days of March, we’ve had 5.5 billion meeting minutes,” Robbins said on “Squawk on the Street.” “Yesterday we held 3.2 million meetings globally on Webex, and that doesn’t include one on ones. Those are multi-individual meetings.”

Companies are shifting operations online in a bid to slow COVID-19. In the United States, at least 4,661 coronavirus cases have been confirmed and at least 85 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. —Jessica Bursztynsky

President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo traded insults on Twitter, ramping up their attacks on each other over their efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Cuomo said Monday the federal government has been “behind from day one of this crisis.” Trump replied on social media that “Cuomo of New York has to ‘do more.'” Cuomo was quick to hit back: “I have to do more? No — YOU have to do something! You’re supposed to be the President.”

Trump took another swing at Cuomo on Tuesday morning, admonishing the New York governor to “keep politics out of” the coronavirus response. —Kevin Breuninger

The coronavirus will be here for “many, many months” and the country must decide on a path forward, infectious disease specialist Michael Osterholm told CNBC. The world is still far from rolling out a vaccine, Osterholm noted, and until then, COVID-19 will present a threat to everyone, especially those most at risk.

“We have to continue to consider what it means to die from this virus. It’s a very, very difficult and tragic situation. We also have to have a conversation about how we’re going to live with it. We have to figure that out,” the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota said in a “Squawk Box” interview. “Do we envision an America that for the next 18 months will be in complete lockdown?” —Will Feuer

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont told CNBC on Tuesday he’s concerned that the number of ventilators in the state wouldn’t be enough to handle a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases.

“We have a long way to go there,” Lamont said on “Squawk Box.” “We do have some capacity there at this point, but I am worried. If we cannot flatten that curve, as they say, we could be overwhelmed.”

The Democratic Lamont said that is why social-distancing efforts are so critical. He said they are necessary to ensure a flattening of the curve — essentially trying to limit the surge of coronavirus cases. —Kevin Stankiewicz

Facebook announced a $100 million program to help small businesses as governments throughout the country urge gyms and restaurants to close their doors to slow the coronavirus pandemic.

In a blog post announcing the grants, Facebook said, “We know that your business may be experiencing disruptions resulting from the global outbreak of COVID-19. We’ve heard that a little financial support can go a long way, so we are offering $100M in cash grants and ad credits to help during this challenging time.”

Facebook said the grants will be available for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in over 30 countries. That would be an average of $3,333 per business. It could help businesses experiencing a sharp drop in traffic, but it’s a fraction of Facebook’s typical revenue. The company generated $21.08 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 alone. —Lauren Feiner

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin heads to the Capitol today to discuss a third coronavirus response package with Senate Republicans as policymakers try to stave off economic calamity.

The Trump administration wants an $850 billion economic stimulus plan, Politico and The Washington Post reported. The White House’s proposal would include about $50 billion in aid to an airline industry battered by the global pandemic, according to the Post.

Congress already passed $8.3 billion in emergency funding to help stop the coronavirus disease’s spread. A separate plan to expand paid leave benefits, boost unemployment insurance and make testing more affordable is working its way through the Capitol this week. —Jacob Pramuk

Lobbying groups representing the country’s travel and tourism industry are headed to the White House today to meet with Vice President Mike Pence and other officials to discuss the industry’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and the “catastrophic economic impact on the hotel industry, its employees and U.S. economy,” U.S. Travel Association and American Hotel and Lodging Association confirmed. 

The lobbying groups represent Carnival, Walt Disney, Expedia, Hilton, and MGM International, as well as a plethora of small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

Travel Economics is forecasting a 10% drop in international visits to the U.S. a year, about double the decline the U.S. faced during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in 2003. This implies 8.2 million lost visitors in one year, even more than the 7.7 million international travelers lost in 2001 and 2002, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In all, it anticipates 825,000 jobs could be lost in the industry.

The lobby groups have asked for a number of relief measures, including tax credits for employee retention, the deferment of quarterly tax payments, and the ability to carry back net-operating-losses, CNBC has reported. It is unclear what measures the White House is currently considering. —Lauren Hirsch

Stocks jumped on Tuesday as Wall Street tried to recover from its worst day in more than 30 years amid signs of potential fiscal stimulus and progress on a possible treatment for COVID-19.

Trading overnight was volatile with Dow futures giving back more than 1,000 points as investors try to weigh the uncertain economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Those moves came after Politico and The Washington Post reported that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will ask congressional lawmakers for a stimulus package of $850 billion or more to help the U.S. economy grapple with the impact of the coronavirus. —Fred Imbert

Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Ron Wyden are pushing to make vote-by-mail available to every American as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to keep people at home during election season.

“The best way to ensure that this virus doesn’t keep people from the ballot box is to bring the ballot box to them. We must allow every American the ability to vote by mail,” the two lawmakers wrote in an opinion article in The Washington Post published on Monday. “And we must expand early voting so that voters who are not able to vote by mail are not exposed to the elevated infection risks of long lines and crowded polling locations.” —Tucker Higgins

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said the central bank still has monetary policy options to deal with the coronavirus crisis, though negative interest rates still are unlikely.

In a CNBC interview, Kashkari called on Congress to act in situations like a potential bailout for the airline industry. He said the Fed is in the “fourth round” of responders to the crisis, behind health care professionals, the public and Congress.

“We are not at the front line of this,” he said on “Squawk Box.” “But we do have a job to do and we are using our tools aggressively to try to make sure the financial system is ultimately working.” —Jeff Cox

An end to the oil price plunge is nowhere in sight, energy experts say, as futures of international benchmark Brent crude fell below $30 a barrel Monday for the first time since 2016. That’s a stunning 54% drop year-to-date.

“Oil could easily be in the teens at the bottom. Could even be low teens at the lowest,” Abhi Rajendran, director of research at Energy Intelligence, told CNBC on Monday.

Energy stocks have been hammered as demand plummets amid the escalating coronavirus crisis, but moves by state actors to unleash a flood of supply are driving them decisively into the ground. —Natasha Turak

Uber Technologies began suspending shared rides on its ride-hailing platform in the United States and Canada to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

The pooled option, which allows riders to book trips at lower prices by sharing the car with up to three other passengers traveling in the same direction, has been disabled for users opening the apps in the two countries.

“Our goal is to help flatten the curve on community spread in the cities we serve,” senior vice president Uber Rides and Platform Andrew Macdonald said in a statement. —Reuters

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has postponed the Euro 2020 soccer tournament to June 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Norwegian Football Association.

It comes after UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin had organized a video conference meeting for all 55 of the group’s associations Tuesday morning. —Sam Meredith

Morgan Stanley’s chief economist Chetan Ahya told investors that a “global recession in 2020 is now our base case.” Morgan Stanley said the coronavirus pandemic is fundamentally disrupting the world’s economy, forecasting the lowest global economic growth “since the global financial crisis.” —Michael Sheetz

Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have been released from an Australian hospital after being treated for the new coronavirus. The couple is now in self-quarantine, their son Chet Hanks said in a video message on his Instagram account. —Holly Ellyatt 

There’s still a major shortage of testing capacity in the U.S., Dr. Kavita Patel, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institute, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Patel, who served as director of policy for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement under Obama, said that even hospitals that have test kits in supply, are running out of the necessary reagents or other supplies like cotton swabs and specific chemicals. She said there’s no reason an at-home test could not be developed and made available to Americans across the country. “A test kit, just like anything else in our lives these days, can come to you even in the same day,” she said. “Doing it in the comfort of your own quarantined home makes a lot of sense.” —Will Feuer

Nordstrom is temporarily closing all of its stores due to COVID-19. The retailer has also withdrawn its 2020 earnings outlook. Nordstrom said it has experienced “a broad-based deceleration in customer demand over the past couple of weeks, particularly in markets most affected by the virus.” 

The Seattle-based chain will close all of its locations, including its off-price division Nordstrom Rack, in the U.S. and Canada beginning Tuesday, for two weeks. Nordstrom said it will continue to offer pay and benefits to store workers at this time. —Lauren Thomas

Biotech giant Regeneron said it aims to have doses of a potential drug for COVID-19 ready to start human clinical trials by early summer. The approach involves creating antibodies to the virus that could be used to treat the disease and to prevent it, Regeneron said in a statement. 

The company had previously said it aimed to have hundreds of thousands of doses ready for human testing in late summer, so the new goal is a significant acceleration. Regeneron said it plans to start large-scale manufacturing by the middle of next month and still plans to ramp up to hundreds of thousands of preventive doses a month by the end of summer. —Meg Tirrell

The total number of confirmed cases in Spain surpassed 10,000 on Tuesday and the number of fatalities rose to 491, said Fernando Simon, the head of the country’s health emergency center. He said the number of cases rose to 11,178, up from a previous tally of 9,161 cases on Monday. —Reuters

Iran has temporarily freed about 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, a spokesman for its judiciary said, according to Reuters, as it reacts to the coronavirus epidemic in the country. “Some 50% of those released are security-related prisoners. … Also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak,” Gholamhossein Esmaili said.

Iran has one of the worst outbreaks outside China, where the virus originated. Its death toll has reached 853 and a total of 14,991 people have been confirmed to have the virus. Esmaili did not elaborate on when those released would have to return to jail. —Holly Ellyatt

Car giant Volkswagen is suspending production at its plants in Europe. Production will be halted at Spanish plants, in Setubal in Portugal, Bratislava in Slovakia and at the Lamborghini and Ducati plants in Italy before the end of this week, Volkswagen’s CEO said, Reuters reported. Most of the other German and European plants will begin preparing to suspend production, probably for two to three weeks, Volkswagen said.

By contrast, production in China has resumed with the exception of the VW factories in Changsha and Urumqi. Earlier, reporting full year results, Volkswagen said the coronavirus made giving an outlook for 2020 impossible. It unveiled a rise in full-year operating profit.

“The spread of coronavirus is currently impacting the global economy. It is uncertain how severely or for how long this will also affect the Volkswagen Group. Currently, it is almost impossible to make a reliable forecast,” Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said in a statement. —Holly Ellyatt

Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Iran has temporarily freed 85,000 prisoners, including political ones

—Reuters and CNBC’s Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.