Coronavirus live updates: Italy death toll slows, pressure mounts to postpone Tokyo Olympics

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 367,400
• Global deaths: At least 16,100
• US cases: At least 41,500 
• US deaths: At least 499

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said a virtual lockdown in France imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus could last several more weeks and that his government was tightening restrictions even further.

He said citizens from Tuesday would only be able to exercise alone or with their children once a day, for no more than an hour, and within 1 kilometer of their home. Open-air markets should close, he added.

“A lot of citizens want normalcy to return, but it’s not happening soon,” Philippe told TF1 news. “We feel the lockdown measures that we have taken, and which we will toughen yet again… could last several weeks.” —Reuters

Online grocery delivery platform Instacart said that it plans to hire an additional 300,000 full-service personal shoppers over the next three months, to help it meet the spike in demand. The company said it has seen volume grow 150%, year over year, in the past few weeks. It said basket sizes on average are also up about 15%. Instacart joins a list of retailers looking to hire, including Walmart and Amazon. —Lauren Thomas

Rhode Island will move its 2020 primary to June 2 from the originally planned April 28 in response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced.

Last week, the Rhode Island Board of Elections voted to postpone the state’s primary from April 28 to June 2, according to the board’s deputy director of elections, Miguel Nunez. But the decision was “pending the governor signing an emergency order,” Nunez said.

Rhode Island has 26 delegates up for grabs. Sen. Bernie Sanders won the state in 2016 when he ran against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. —Yelena Dzhanova, Jacob Pramuk

The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy rose by 602, the smallest increase for four days, while the number of new cases also slowed, raising hope that the most aggressive phase of the epidemic may be passing.

The Civil Protection Agency said the number of fatalities from the month-old contagion stood at 6,077, while confirmed cases totaled 63,927, an increase of 4,789 over the past 24 hours — the smallest rise for five days.

“Today is perhaps the first positive day we have had in this hard, very tough month,” said Giulio Gallera, the top health official in the northern region of Lombardy, which has been hardest hit by the outbreak. “It is not the time to sing victory, but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” 

However, there was also a significant fall in the number of tests carried out, and the head of Italy’s national health institute, Silvio Brusaferro, said it was too soon to say if the recent decline in daily deaths and new cases would continue. —Reuters

There is mounting pressure to postpone the Olympics for the first time in its 124-year history. 

Sources familiar with the matter tell CNBC that pressure is mounting and organizers could release a decision soon. One person told CNBC that postponing the games is the most likely scenario, as opposed to an Olympics without spectators which would “drain excitement” from the Games. 

One IOC member, Dick Pound, told USA Today that the games would be postponed, but the IOC has not made an official announcement yet. —Jessica Golden

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice issued a “stay-at-home” order for the state. It will go into effect Tuesday at 8:00 pm.

Only those who provide essential services or are employed by essential businesses can go to work, according to the order. Residents will still be allowed to go to grocery, convenience and warehouse stores, as well as to the pharmacy. They can also bike ride, jog and walk outside as long as they maintain distances of six feet apart from other people. —Hannah Miller

The major stock indexes drifted back toward their session lows after the Senate failed to pass a landmark COVID-19 stimulus bill, a potential economic boost investors had hoped would come. The Dow was last seen down 500 points, or 2.5%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were down 2.5% and 0.45%, respectively. Still, each index remained well off their session lows that saw both the Dow and the S&P 500 down about 5%. —Thomas Franck

Nike, Macy’s and Vineyard Vines are just a few of the companies currently offering decent deals online, to try to stir up some sales as their stores sit dark. Many retailers are also throwing in free shipping — if they did not already offer it — and extending the window of time you have to make a return, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. But even with a 25% or 30% coupon sitting in their email inboxes, most consumers are not looking for a new pair of shoes right now. “You can discount in a demand-weak environment, but it doesn’t matter,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData retail. —Lauren Thomas

A massive stimulus funding package again failed a key procedural vote in the Senate, as there were major differences between the two parties over what to include in the final legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell threw aside his usually placid appearance as he tore into Senate Democrats for the second straight day, accusing them of filibustering a deal the country needs immediately. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was equally in combative in remarks, saying Republicans were still pushing for a bailout fund “with no strings attached.” —Lauren Hirsch, Jacob Pramuk

The decision to have “Trolls World Tour” skip theaters and go straight to home viewing is an outlier, not the norm, the president of the National Association of Theater Owners said.

Movie theaters in a number of countries have been shuttered in an attempt to stem the rate of infection from the coronavirus. The pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the entertainment industry, with studios being forced to make tough decisions about which movies will be delayed and which will be sent to the streaming and on-demand platforms.

Disney‘s “Onward,” Universal‘s “The Hunt,” “Emma” and “The Invisible Man,” Warner Bros.‘s “The Way Back,” Lionsgate‘s “I Still Believe” and Sony‘s “Bloodshot” have all gone to home video earlier than expected in the wake of theater closures. —Sarah Whitten

Social distancing restrictions continue to be ramped up across the country, and new data sheds light on how American adults are adapting. One in 4 U.S. adults are avoiding public places but are still hanging out at homes of friends and family, according to a survey conducted March 17-20 by Morning Consult. —Chris Eudaily

Stocks fell sharply Monday even after the Federal Reserve unveiled new measures to keep markets working properly. 

The major averages pared losses at midday after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he expects the upper chamber to reach a deal on a massive fiscal stimulus package.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded more than 150 points lower, or 0.9%, after clinching its lowest level in three years earlier in the session. The S&P 500 slid about 0.8% while the Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 1% gain. —Fred Imbert

Boeing said it is shutting down production at its factories in the Seattle area for two weeks as the manufacturer grapples with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company’s move to suspend its production in the Puget Sound area comes as Washington state, where most of Boeing’s production is centered, is in a state of emergency. Several Boeing employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

“These actions are being taken to ensure the well-being of employees, their families and the local community, and will include an orderly shutdown consistent with the requirements of its customers,” Boeing said in a statement. —Leslie Josephs

Last week the regulator for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced a forbearance program for borrowers unable to pay their loans due to the effects of the coronavirus.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which includes the FHA loan program, announced the same. That is a huge relief for borrowers, who can now delay payments without penalty. Unfortunately, there is a hitch. 

The mortgage servicers, the companies that collect monthly payments, are required to pass those payments on to the investors who own those loans in mortgage-backed securities, even if the borrowers don’t pay. Servicers also have to pay insurers and tax authorities.

 Under normal circumstances, servicers have the cash reserves to do this if just a few borrowers don’t pay, but the industry is now looking at a potentially unprecedented wave of missed mortgage payments that could bankrupt the system. —Diana Olick

Tech-focused lenders are lobbying to be part of a government stimulus plan for businesses hurting from the coronavirus slowdown. 

Financial Innovation Now —  an industry group representing Square, PayPal, Intuit, Stripe and other nonbank finance companies — sent a letter to Congress on Friday asking that their members be included in any emergency U.S. government funding. 

“Small businesses are not well served by traditional financial institutions, nor will existing federal small business loan programs deliver funds soon enough,” the letter said. “Any federal small business loan program must leverage digital advances in the marketplace to ensure that stimulus can reach those business most in need.” —Kate Rooney

Democrats and Republicans continued negotiations over a massive stimulus funding package that failed to get enough votes in a key Senate procedural tally Sunday evening.

A Senate vote on the bill originally planned for 9:45 a.m. ET had been pushed until later in the day. The Senate is planning to vote after remarks from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, which started at noon.

“We’re very close to reaching a deal. Very close. And our goal is to reach a deal today,” Schumer said. “And we’re hopeful, even confident that we will meet that goal.”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Monday that Congress is “very close” to a stimulus agreement and must get it done “today.” —Lauren Hirsch

Small businesses across America are already feeling the financial crunch from coronavirus restrictions that have millions of people taking refuge from the virus outbreak by staying at home and avoiding unnecessary shopping trips.

Several U.S. states have already begun mandating that nonessential businesses — basically anything beyond supermarkets and pharmacies — close their doors to customers. But, even in states where that isn’t the case, scores of small businesses have already made the move to close up shop totally or reduce their hours of business dramatically.

“I never could have imagined being closed for days and days,” says Barb Skupien, the 51-year-old owner of Embellish, a jewelry boutique in Asheville, North Carolina that she first opened in 2015 after previously running a similar store in Chicago for roughly seven years. —Tom Huddleston Jr.

Major groups representing U.S. mayors, county executives, police and fire chiefs and first responders are urging President Donald Trump to use a federal act — which he so far has refused to tap — to get them “essential personal protective equipment” quickly to help them respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our nation’s first responders call on you to address the shortage of essential personal protective equipment needed to keep them healthy and safe while on the job,” the groups wrote in a letter to Trump.

“If we lose emergency personnel to the disease, we cannot transport people to hospitals and protect our citizens,” they said. —Dan Mangan

President Donald Trump has long pointed to the stock market’s success under his administration as a tangible endorsement of his economic policies and had often boasted about the Dow Jones Industrial Average‘s gains since his election. That was, of course, before investors knew about the new coronavirus.

With COVID-19 and measures to contain its spread seeding economic angst across the globe, the Dow’s steep drop pushed the 30-stock index below the level where it closed on Nov. 8, 2016, the day Trump won the 2016 election over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The sell-off is part of a historic market meltdown that has sent the Dow down nearly 40% since last month. —Thomas Franck

Stocks fell sharply even after the Federal Reserve unveiled new measures to keep markets working properly. Wall Street awaited Washington lawmakers to agree to an economic stimulus and rescue plan to cushion the blow from the coronavirus outbreak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 952 points lower, or 5%. The 30-stock average also hit its lowest level in three years. The S&P 500 slid 4.9% while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.6%. —Fred Imbert

A growing list of states is ordering residents stay at home during the coronavirus crisis, as COVID-19 takes hold in the U.S. Michigan became the latest state to issue such restrictions. 

Earlier, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker issued an emergency order to close all nonessential businesses across the state to curb the spread of COVID-19. 

“I am issuing the following emergency order: effective Tuesday March 24th at noon, all nonessential businesses shall close their physical workplaces and facilities to all workers, customers and the public,” he said at a news briefing.

The announcement follows similar orders in states including New York, California and New Jersey. —Will Feuer

The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will be felt far beyond the immediate impact of the virus, the OECD’s secretary general told CNBC.

“What you have is an economic effect now that, very clearly, is going to be prolonged beyond the period of the pandemic,” Angel Gurria told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”

“We’ll hopefully get rid of the pandemic in the next two or three months and then the question is how many unemployed (will there be), how many small and medium-sized enterprises will be in a very, very severe situation if not disappeared by that time,” he added. —Holly Ellyatt

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an emergency order directing hospitals to increase their capacity by 50% as coronavirus cases across the state surged 38% overnight to 20,875.

New York is the hardest-hit state in the country behind New Jersey, Cuomo said. New York City, alone, accounts for 12,305 confirmed infections, he said.

“This could go on for several months,” Cuomo said. Roughly 13% of all cases have been hospitalized so far, 621 of the patients have ended up in the ICU and 157 people have died, he said. —Berkeley Lovelance Jr., Noah Higgins-Dunn

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the G-7 wealthy democracies plan to hold a conference call on Tuesday morning to discuss their coronavirus response efforts, a source familiar with the plans said.

The call, to be led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, will likely result in a statement from the G-7 finance officials, who remain in close touch and are coordinating their efforts, the source told Reuters. —Reuters

The biggest task facing the world right now is stopping the spread of the coronavirus. But even when the global public health crisis is under control and global supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 end, many large companies expect that business will not return to normal for between three to six months.

That’s according to the latest CNBC Global CFO Council survey, in which 40% of companies that already have or expect supply chain issues said it could take between three and six months to get business back to normal once the issues end (25% said six months).

“It is complete chaos,” said Andrew Sherman, a partner with Seyfarth Shaw who works with Fortune 1000 clients.

One-third of CFOs taking the CNBC survey indicated it is still too early to know if there will be supply chain disruptions. —Barbara Booth, Eric Rosenbaum

The federal government is racing to ease the pain facing the U.S. economy as the coronavirus pandemic makes its swift pivot from a public health crisis to financial catastrophe.

The damage from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, is unlike anything in modern times. Economists have warned the fallout could dwarf the 2008 recession, the worst downturn that many Americans can remember.

CNBC has compiled a list of steps taken by the federal government so far, counting actions taken by Congress and the executive branch, including the Federal Reserve, which operates independently from political officials. —Tucker Higgins

CVS Health said it plans to immediately fill 50,000 jobs across the U.S. to keep up with a demand for over-the-counter medicines, prescriptions, and other items during the coronavirus outbreak.

In a news release, CVS called it “the most ambitious hiring drive in the company’s history.”

The major pharmacy chain said it needs more store associates, home delivery drivers, distribution center employees and customer service professionals for part-time, full-time and temporary roles. CVS will use virtual job fairs, virtual interviews and tech-enabled job tryouts to find the right candidates, according to a news release. —Melissa Repko

General Electric’s aviation unit, which makes some of the world’s most commonly used aircraft engines, said it is laying 10% of its U.S. workers — about 2,600 people — as coronavirus hurts demand.

Aviation has been hit especially hard by the virus, which has decimated air travel demand and prompted airlines including Delta, United, and others around the world to park hundreds of planes and defer deliveries of new aircraft in an attempt to save cash.

GE’s CEO Larry Culp said he would forgo his salary for the rest of the year, following similar moves by airline executives at airlines and at one of the industrial conglomerate’s biggest customers for new engines: Boeing. —Leslie Josephs

President Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of posts on Twitter spreading conspiracy theories about the coronavirus, at one point promoting a dubious article that suggested a miracle cure was at hand.

“They should take a SERIOUS LOOK at this…” Chuck Callesto wrote in the tweet posted to the president’s account, with a link to a story with the headline “REPORT: French Doctor Reports 100 % Cure Rate Using Malaria Drug to Treat Corona Virus.”

There is no known cure or treatment for coronavirus, though scammers have sought to cash in on the panic it has caused. —Tucker Higgins

Fast-fashion retailer H&M said it is weighing laying off tens of thousands of workers worldwide temporarily, as it works through interruptions to its business from the coronavirus pandemic.

The company also announced it has canceled its dividend proposal.

H&M, which is headquartered in Sweden and is one of the biggest apparel retailers in the world, has for the time being shuttered all of its stores in its several of its largest markets, including Germany and the U.S. All stores in the U.K. closed as of this past weekend.

As of Monday morning, the company said a total of 3,441 of its 5,062 stores worldwide are closed, “which together with subdued demand in the markets that are still open, has had a significant negative impact on sales so far in March.” —Lauren Thomas

Sen. Patrick Toomey said the Federal Reserve’s latest round of emergency action underscores the importance of the coronavirus relief legislation being negotiated in the Senate.

“The Fed is not allowed to lose money. That’s why our legislation is so essential,” the Pennsylvania Republican told CNBC. “The point is to provide the liquidity to get through this terrible moment,” Toomey said of the Senate legislation. —Kevin Stankiewicz

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams warned the coronavirus outbreak will worsen this week and said that people across the country are not taking the threat seriously enough, NBC News reported.

“I want America to understand this week, it’s going to get bad,” Adams said in an interview on the “TODAY” show.

The disease is spreading, he said, because many people — especially young people — are not abiding by guidance to stay at home and practice social distancing. —NBC News

Starbucks baristas who continue to work will receive an extra $3 per hour for shifts through April 19.

The company on Friday closed most of its company-operated cafes across the U.S. and Canada, moving to drive-thru and delivery service only. Employees who are not working will receive catastrophe pay through April 19.

The global coffee chain joins Target, Whole Foods, and Amazon in offering extra pay to its workers during the crisis. —Amelia Lucas

Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah, who tested positive last week for the disease caused by the coronavirus, said Sunday night that he has been hospitalized since Friday because of “severe shortness of breath,” NBC News reported.

McAdams said in a statement that he experienced worsening symptoms Friday evening and he called the hotline for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. He said he was told to go to the hospital.

“I was admitted and have been receiving oxygen as I struggled to maintain my blood oxygen at appropriate levels. I am now off oxygen and feeling relatively better and expect to be released as soon as the doctor determines it is appropriate,” he said in a statement posted on his Twitter account. 

McAdams said his experience has shown him “how critical it is to follow the advice of the CDC and the Utah Department of Health in order to stop the spread of this virus.” —NBC News

Ken Langone, chairman of one of the nation’s premier hospitals, warned both political parties to “redeem themselves” and pass a coronavirus stimulus package right away.

“To our people in Washington: Get off your asses! There’ll be plenty of time to argue philosophy and points of view. Right now, we need a bad transfusion in America. And they better get it done and better get it done today,'” said the billionaire chairman of the board of the NYU Langone Medical Center.

Langone, a political conservative who helped start Home Depot and founded of investment firm Invemed Associates, said the American people are closely watching what Washington does. —Matthew J. Belvedere

COVID-19 has now infected more than 350,536 people, according to Johns Hopkins University, and killed at least 15,328 people.

Global cases have more than doubled in the past week, according to the World Health Organization, and worldwide deaths have nearly tripled.

Outside of China, where the virus emerged in December, Italy has the most confirmed cases with nearly 60,000. —Will Feuer

The Federal Reserve said it will launch a barrage of programs aimed at helping markets function more efficiently in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Among the initiatives is a commitment to continue its asset purchasing program “in the amounts needed to support smooth market functioning and effective transmission of monetary policy to broader financial conditions and the economy.”

Others include an unspecified lending program for Main Street businesses and the Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility implemented during the financial crisis. There will be a program worth $300 billion “supporting the flow of credit” to employers consumers and businesses and two facilities set up to provide credit to large employers. —Jeff Cox

Broad testing of every American, symptoms or not, could still be “weeks if not months” away, according to Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche, which has developed a coronavirus test being used in the U.S.

Schwan said his company has rolled out about 400,000 test kits over the past week. The kits are being used in every state, he said. Schwan added that U.S. testing capacity is still too low. “Demand continues to be much higher than supply,” he said. —Will Feuer

Spain’s health ministry confirmed 462 deaths overnight, bringing the country’s total number of COVID-19 fatalities nationwide to 2,182.

Spain has reported the fourth-highest number of infections worldwide to date, according to Johns Hopkins University, behind China, Italy and the U.S., respectively. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Sunday his intention to extend the country’s state of emergency by 15 days. —Sam Meredith

The battle against the coronavirus pandemic is like “the fog of war,” top U.S. health official Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview with Science magazine. He said it was “premature” to assess whether the U.S. plan has failed or not.

Fauci, who director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been on the front line of the government response to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

“It’s almost like the fog of war. After the war is over, you then look back and say, ‘Wow, this plan, as great as it was, didn’t quite work once they started that throwing hand grenades at us,'” Fauci said. —Weizhen Tan

Poland’s representatives are calling on the International Olympics Committee to delay the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The request comes less than 24 hours after the IOC said it would step up its planning of the event to safeguard the health of everyone involved. The Olympic Games are scheduled for July 24 through to Aug. 9, with the Paralympic Games set to run from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6.

Canada has said it will not send teams to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, saying “nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community.” —Sam Meredith

European markets traded lower as the coronavirus outbreak continues to take its toll on the international community and financial markets. The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 4.5% shortly after the opening bell, with industrials plunging 6% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid deep into negative territory. —Holly Ellyatt

Hong Kong will ban all tourists to the city starting Wednesday, leader Carrie Lam announced Monday. The city’s chief executive also said people coming from Taiwan and Macao, including Hong Kong residents, would need to be quarantined. —Sam Meredith

Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: New Zealand prepares for lockdown; Hong Kong to ban tourists