Coronavirus live updates: TSA screenings drop to 10-year low, Spain suffers highest death toll yet

FAN Editor

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 873,767
  • Global deaths: At least 43,288
  • US cases: At least 189,633
  • US deaths: At least 4,081

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

10:36 am: Home Depot asks employees to check temperaturebefore 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 stilling 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).

BarclaysSantanderLloyds, 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

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