The April jobs report showed the U.S. unemployment rate skyrocket to 14.7% after the worst job losses since post-World War II era, as coronavirus restrictions shuttered businesses for the month and put millions out of work. State officials are attempting to thread the needle between reopening parts of the economy and preventing a resurgence of the virus. While the virus appears to be decelerating in some of the nation’s first hot spots like New York, New Jersey and the Detroit-metro area, it is gaining speed elsewhere.
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 3.8 million
- Global deaths: At least 269,881
- U.S. cases: More than 1.2 million
- U.S. deaths: At least 75,670
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
10:50 am: More than 78% of workers see layoffs as temporary, a ‘silver lining’
Nearly four out of five unemployed workers sees their layoff as temporary, and economists say that could be a good sign for the economy. The 18 million workers who described themselves as temporarily laid off expect to return to work in six months.
Michelle Meyer, Bank of America head of U.S. economics, said that is a ‘silver lining’ in the dismal April jobs report, which showed a loss of 20.6 million payrolls. But she said “time is of the essence” to get those workers back to their jobs, before they risk becoming permanent layoffs. —Patti Domm
10:35 am: Tickets for reopening of Disney Shanghai sell out
A visitor wearing a mask walks outside the Shanghai Disney Resort, that will be closed during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday following the outbreak of a new coronavirus, in Shanghai, China January 24, 2020.
Aly Song | Reuters
Tickets for the opening day of Disney‘s Shanghai theme park sold out within minutes of going on sale.
Shanghai Disneyland, which has been closed since Jan. 25, will reopen to the public on May 11.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the park saw around 80,000 visitors per day. The government has mandated that Disney operate at 30% capacity, or about 24,000 visitors, when it reopens. However, CEO Bob Chapek said the park will start operations below that capacity and ramp up to the 30% threshold over the course of several weeks.
Guests are required to purchase their admission tickets prior to arriving at the park and will need to wear masks while in the park, except when eating. —Sarah Whitten
10:30 am: Restaurants and bars face rocky path to recovery
While some restaurants and bars will reopen with limited capacity sooner rather than later, the sector is likely to face widespread decimation, according to industry and health experts.
Establishments already hurt by prolonged closures will face steep costs to reopen their doors and sharp cuts to profit margins because of capacity limits.
And even if restaurants find it economically feasible to reopen, there’s no guarantee Americans would feel safe enough to show up in the numbers necessary for a recovery. In fact, 68% percent of Americans say they would feel uncomfortable eating at a restaurant, according to a late April survey from SAP’s Qualtrics, the employee management software company. —Amelia Lucas
10:21 am: Leisure and hospitality sector loses 47% of jobs in April
The leisure and hospitality sector lost 47% of its jobs in April as the broader U.S. economy shed more positions last month than in any other since before World War II. The vast majority of the sector’s 7.7 million decline was concentrated in the food service industry, including waiters, chefs and cashiers. Those workers alone saw net job losses total 5.5 million.
Health care, too, saw a steep decline of 1.4 million jobs as providers paused elective surgeries and regular check-ups to prioritize preparation for, and treatment of, Covid-19 patients. —Thomas Franck
9:57 am: Sorrento Therapeutics, Mount Sinai develop antibody cocktail
Biopharma company Sorrento Therapeutics and Mount Sinai Health System in New York City announced they have joined forces to develop an antibody cocktail called COVI-SHIELD they hope will shield against Covid-19 infection for up to two months.
This therapy is designed to be resistant to future virus mutations since it uses three neutralizing antibodies to ward off the disease.
Utilizing an FDA-approved diagnostic test under Emergency Use Authorization, Mount Sinai researchers have screened approximately 15,000 Covid-19 convalescent patients for highly concentrated, virus-neutralizing antibodies that will be used to produce the treatment.
The jury is still out on how effective antibody treatment is against Covid-19. The FDA is currently trying to discern what level of immunity people have after they have recovered from the virus. —Lori Ioannou
9:50 am: Stocks rise despite staggering job losses
9:32 am: Moderna CEO says supply of coronavirus vaccine will be limited, US will help decide who gets it first
Moderna anticipates it will work “very closely” with the U.S. government to determine who will get the first doses of its experimental vaccine if it is proven to work, CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC. The company announced Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration cleared its potential vaccine for a phase 2 trial.
“We will all be supply constrained for quite some time, meaning we won’t be able to make as many product as will be required to vaccinate everyone on the planet,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Read the full report on the Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel interview from CNBC’s William Feuer. —Melodie Warner
9:13 am: Tesla’s Fremont plant will resume ‘limited operations’ on Friday
Tesla Chief Executive Office Elon Musk speaks at his company’s factory in Fremont, California.
Noah Berger | Reuters
Tesla will attempt to restart production at its U.S. car plant in Fremont, California on Friday afternoon, CEO Elon Musk told employees in an e-mail sent overnight. The plant would resume “limited operations” by bringing back around 30% of the employees that would normally work on a given shift, said Tesla’s HR boss, Valerie Capers Workman, in a separate e-mail.
Alameda County, where the plant is located, has a shelter-in-place order effective through May 31, according to the county Public Health Department website.
Read the full report on Tesla’s Fremont plant operations from CNBC’s Lora Kolodny. —Melodie Warner
8:43 am: Unemployment rate jumps to 14.7% as a record 20.5 million jobs were lost in April
The U.S. labor market in April dropped to historic levels as 20.5 million workers were slashed from nonfarm payrolls, sending the unemployment rate skyrocketing to 14.7%, according to the Labor Department. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting payrolls to shed 21.5 million and the unemployment rate to go to 16%.
April’s unemployment rate topped the post-war record 10.8% but was short of the Great Depression high estimated at 24.9%. The financial crisis peak was 10% in October 2009.
Read the full report on the U.S. labor market from CNBC’s Jeff Cox. —Melodie Warner
8:10 am: Hot spots of new cases spread in Southeast states
7:31 am: WHO calls for more research into role of Wuhan market
This photo taken on April 15, 2020 shows venders wearing face masks as the offer prawns for sale at the Wuhan Baishazhou Market in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province. HECTOR RETAMAL | AFP via Getty Images
HECTOR RETAMAL
The seafood market in Wuhan, China, played a role in the outbreak, but more research is needed to determine whether it’s the source of the virus or was an “amplifying setting,” the World Health Organization said, according to Reuters.
WHO officials previously said the coronavirus emerged from a seafood market in Wuhan and likely originated in bats, then jumped to an “intermediate host” before infecting humans. Scientists continue to run tests on various animals but have so far not found the host responsible for the outbreak.
“The market played a role in the event, that’s clear. But what role [was] we don’t know, whether it was the source or amplifying setting or just a coincidence that some cases were detected in and around that market,” said Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, a WHO expert on food safety and zoonotic viruses, Reuters reported.
The WHO is in talks with China to send a follow-up mission to the country to investigate the animal source of the virus, a WHO official said Wednesday. —Will Feuer
7:03 am: Indonesia eases travel bans earlier than planned
Indonesian mural artist Bayu Rahardian poses in front of his artwork amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in Depok on April 16, 2020.
Adek Berry | AFP | Getty Images
Indonesia is easing bans on domestic air and sea travel earlier than planned, according to Reuters.
The country two weeks ago put in place bans on certain domestic travel with the intention to keep restrictions in place until the end of May. The government has lifted those restrictions for Indonesians who work in security, defense and health services; those who have emergency health reasons; and migrant workers returning home, Reuters reported.
Travelers must have tested negative for Covid-19 and have a letter from their employer. —Sara Salinas
Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Spain reports uptick in daily deaths; Australia plans reopening in 3 stages
