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The reality about the impact of COVID-19 in the U.S. seemed to sink in with Americans on Thursday as more schools shut down, Disneyland closed its doors, and store shelves in some cities were emptied of pantry goods and paper items.
There are now 1,701 cases and 40 deaths in the U.S., according to the most recent data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering’s Centers for Systems Science and Engineering. Georgia reported its first death from the disease, making it the sixth state to do so.
An American Airlines Group Inc. AAL, +6.45% pilot in Texas tested positive for COVID-19. The U.S. Capitol buildings in Washington, D.C., have shut down all tours. In Northern California, a wedding was postponed and some church services have moved online. In some areas of New Jersey, mass has been canceled this weekend. In New York City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum have closed their doors. Broadway shut down most shows. In Alexandria, Va., customers tried to time a visit to a CVS drugstore with the arrival of a shipment of hand sanitizers, with no luck. Schools in Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon and Washington, D.C., have been closed.
In Europe, the number of cases is being closely watched, as outbreaks in multiple countries worsen, and significant containment efforts, such as closing all schools in Spain, have been put into place. Italy now has 15,113 cases and 1,016 deaths; Spain, 4,073 cases and 92 deaths; Germany, 3,059 cases and six deaths; and France, 2,882 cases and 61 deaths.
Worldwide, more than 137,000 people have been sickened by COVID-19 and at least 5,069 people have died. An estimated 69,000 people worldwide have recovered from the coronavirus, which was first detected late last year in Wuhan, China. In South Korea, there are now 7,869 cases and 66 deaths. In Iran, newly identified cases are soaring, to 11,364 cases and 514 deaths.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter that he is in self-isolation after his wife, Sophie Trudeau, tested positive for the virus.
Here’s what companies are saying about the impact of COVID-19:
• Kohl’s Corp. KSS, +1.04% is experiencing “softening” in categories most affected by coronavirus. However, the retailer didn’t specify which categories. Digital demand hasn’t seen an impact, the company said.
• Adobe Systems Inc. ADBE, +9.70% delivered a lower-than-anticipated outlook for the current quarter, citing coronavirus headwinds. The company said it expects fiscal second-quarter revenue of about $3.17 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $2.35 over expectations that its customers could delay bookings decisions, reduce marketing spending, and delay consulting service implementations. Adobe’s cancellation of events, including its own summit, “lowered both GAAP and non-GAAP EPS by $0.07 in the quarter,” it said.
• Gogo Inc. GOGO, +20.73%, the in-flight Wi-Fi company, said it would not provide guidance for 2020 at this time due to uncertainty about the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of airlines, most recently American Airlines, have cut capacity over sinking demand for their services.
• Wynn Resorts Ltd. WYNN, +4.62% said starting this weekend it will temporarily close its buffets, nightclubs, and theaters in Las Vegas and Boston over COVID-19 worries. The hotelier also said it is installing noninvasive thermal cameras at the entrances of all its locations.
• Slack Technologies Inc. WORK, -17.61%, which reported a loss of $89.1 million in the quarter, said it also expects “somewhat slower growth in the first half, particularly Q1, versus the rest of the year” as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. That is despite expectations that remote-work tools like Slack will report a surge in usage as more people work from home during the outbreak.
Additional reporting by Emily Bary and Tonya Garcia and Victor Reklaitis
Read more of MarketWatch’s COVID-19 coverage:
As coronavirus spreads, CDC warns Americans about traveling within the U.S.
