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(Bloomberg) —
The White House ordered the federal U.S. government to maximize the use of teleworking and minimize face-to-face interactions, emulating moves by major employers across the globe. European countries agreed to shut their borders to foreigners and Australia told its citizens not to travel abroad, strengthening curbs that are hammering the transport and entertainment industries.
Policy makers also stepped up on the economic-support front. President Donald Trump’s administration is moving ahead with a stimulus package of $1 trillion or more. His Brazilian counterpart asked the country’s Congress to declare a state of public calamity that would allow his government to miss this year’s fiscal target.
Key Developments:
- Cases hit 191,521 worldwide, deaths exceed 7,800
- Trump administration considers stimulus plan that could reach $1.2 trillion
- San Francisco shelter-in-place shows U.S. what’s to come
- European Union leaders agreed to restrict most travel into the continent
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Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus and here for maps and charts. For analysis of the impact from Bloomberg Economics, click here. To see the impact on oil and commodities demand, click here.
White House Orders Federal Employes to Limit Personal Contact (10:32 a.m. HK)
The White House ordered the federal government to “immediately adjust operations and services to minimize face-to-face interactions.” There may be exceptions to ensure “public health and safety, including law enforcement and criminal-justice functions,” the White House said in a statement.
Federal agency heads will have flexibility to realign personnel to higher-priority tasks, the order said. Non “mission critical” services should be scaled back to make space for vital ones, the White House said. The government will also maximize the use of telework.
U.S. Business Closures Spread to Neiman Marcus, Nevada Entertainment (9:33 a.m. HK)
Neiman Marcus Group Inc. is following the precautionary playbook of other retailers across the globe, temporarily closing all stores, including Bergdorf Goodman, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak ordered the monthlong closure of casinos, bars, movie theaters, restaurants and gyms in his state, the Associated Press reported. He also joined regional leaders elsewhere in the country in instructing restaurants only to offer takeout or delivery.
China New Cases Mainly Imported; Korean Cases Keep Rising (9:32 a.m. HK)
China reported 13 additional coronavirus cases by end of March 17, with all but one imported. The only one locally reported case was from Wuhan. South Korea reported 93 new coronavirus cases, roughly on par with the increase in recent days, with the total reaching 8,413.
California Governor Warns of Extended School Closures (8:30 a.m. HK)
California Governor Gavin Newsom said parents shouldn’t expect schools to open again before the start of summer break. Almost all — 98.8% — of California schools have closed down, Newsom said in a press conference on the first day of shelter-in-place mandates across the San Francisco Bay Area. More counties likely will follow suit with similar orders, he said.
Newsom said the state is negotiating with about 900 hotels in an effort to create space for homeless people being quarantined for the coronavirus, as well as for surge-capacity if hospitals need extra beds. The state has already secured the leases of two hotels with a total of 393 rooms.
U.S. Sees Risk of Epidemic Lasting 18 Months or More (7:49 a.m. HK)
A federal government document laying out options for countering the coronavirus indicated that a pandemic would last 18 months or longer, the New York Times reported. The plan, dated Friday, said there could be “multiple waves” during the outbreak that caused widespread shortages.
The newspaper cited the document saying that one option for President Donald Trump would be to invoke the Defense Production Act of 1950, which allows the White House to force U.S. companies to boost production of critical supplies and equipment.
Mnuchin Says U.S. Jobless Could Hit 20% Without Action (6:38 a.m. HK)
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin raised the possibility with Republican senators that U.S. unemployment could rise to 20% without government intervention because of the impact of the coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mnuchin discussed the scenario with the lawmakers on Tuesday as he proposed an economic stimulus of $1 trillion or more.
Australia Tells Citizens Not to Travel Abroad (6:30 a.m. HK)
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told all Australian citizens not to travel abroad indefinitely and banned non-essential gatherings of 100 people or more, in a dramatic escalation of the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.
All 50 U.S. States Have Cases as West Virginia Reports Infection (6:15 a.m. HK)
West Virginia reported its first case of the virus, meaning the infection has spread to all 50 U.S. states. Governor Jim Justice said a patient in the state’s panhandle has been diagnosed.
Fed Takes Emergency Action to Shore Up Credit (6 a.m. HK)
The Federal Reserve invoked emergency authority to set up two programs aimed at keeping credit flowing, as companies and financial institutions face a rapid escalation in funding strains. One facility will support commercial paper, a market that firms tap to get short-term cash. A second will inject liquidity more broadly to the financial system, through key banks that deal directly with the U.S. central bank.
Italy, Belgium Ban Short-Selling (6 a.m. HK)
Italy’s market watchdog banned short selling on all Milan stock markets for three months to neutralize “turbulence” ignited by the pandemic.
Regulators in Belgium banned short selling on Euronext Brussels until April 17. The measure is only applicable to companies listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Growth, regulator FSMA said in a statement.
New York MTA Seeks $4 Billion Bailout as Ridership Plummets (5:15 p.m. NY)
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest mass-transit provider in the U.S., is seeking $4 billion from the federal government as the coronavirus has decimated ridership and revenue, according to a letter MTA head Pat Foye sent Tuesday to the state’s Congressional delegation.
N.J. Asks Trump for Aid to Expand Hospital Capacity (5:09 p.m. NY)
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy asked for the U.S. military and the Army Corps of Engineers to help expand hospital and intensive-care unit capacity statewide. In a letter to President Donald Trump, Murphy said health-care workers “may be forced to make the agonizing decisions that the world has seen in Northern Italy” by having to deny lifesaving care to virus patients.
The state’s 2,000 intensive-care beds appear to be “a fraction of the capacity” that will be needed in the coming weeks, Murphy wrote. The state also is studying whether to reopen several hospitals that have been closed in recent years, Judy Persichilli, the health commissioner, said at a news conference.
Belgium Tightens Restrictions, Bans Gatherings (4:41 p.m. NY)
Belgium drastically tightened its restrictions on citizens, banning all unnecessary movements and gatherings of people and keeping only food stores and pharmacies open for customers. The measures go into effect Wednesday noon and will last until April 5. A ban on travel abroad was also announced.
Violating strict confinement measures in place in Luxembourg since Monday could lead to fines of as much as 10,000 euros ($11,000), even a small prison sentence, local news outlet RTL said. Police started doing checks across the country on Tuesday and will continue to do over the coming days, according to a statement by the national police.
Europe Closes Its Borders in Last-Ditch Attempt (3:17 p.m. NY)
European leaders agreed to restrict most travel into the continent in an unprecedented move.
Banning all travel to foreign nationals adds to a series of restrictive measures that would have been unthinkable in Western democracies only a few weeks ago.
Trump Wants to Send Individual Stimulus Checks Now (12:48 p.m. NY)
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the administration is pushing to send direct payments to Americans within two weeks.
“Americans need cash now, and the president wants to give cash now. And I mean now, in the next two weeks,” Mnuchin said Tuesday at a White House briefing alongside President Donald Trump.
Mnuchin said the administration will aim not to send checks to millionaires but stressed the need for urgency. He was due to meet Republican lawmakers after the briefing.
Latest U.S. Estimate on Mortality Rate Is About 0.7% (12:45 p.m. NY)
The latest data on the mortality rate for people wit Covid-19 is about 0.7%, with most people under 30 at very low risk, said Deborah Birx, a member of the White House task force responding to the new coronavirus.
There are exceptions, especially for people with underlying illnesses, Birx said.
“It’s much higher, in people with pre-existing medical conditions, even if young, and people that are older, with pre-existing medical conditions,” she said at a press conference in Washington.
Prolonged Social Distancing Would Come at High Cost (12:42 p.m. NY)
A truly effective shutdown would likely have to be significantly longer and more severe than the two weeks recommended by many governments.
The best way to prevent the pandemic from overwhelming hospitals is social distancing that could drag on for a year or more, until doctors find a way to control it, researchers at Imperial College London said in a report published Monday.
They estimated 81% of people in Great Britain and the U.S. would get the virus if no steps were taken to slow its spread. In the U.S., 2.2 million would die, with 510,000 deaths in Great Britain.
EU Commission Sees Vaccine Ready as Early as Fall (11:41 a.m. NY)
A vaccine against coronavirus may be on the market perhaps before autumn, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a video posted on Twitter. The commission provided as much as 80 million euros ($88 million) of support for German medical developer CureVac GmbH.
Cuomo Rejects Mayor’s NYC Shelter-In-Place Idea (10:51 a.m. NY)
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he alone has the authority to order shelters-in-place, and has no plans to do so for New York City.
His comments contrast with those of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who earlier said the most populous U.S. city may be forced to order residents to confine themselves in their homes in an effort to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
“We hear New York City is going to quarantine itself; that can’t happen without state approval,” Cuomo said Tuesday in a press briefing. “I have no interest whatsoever or plan whatsoever to contain New York City.”
U.K. Sees 20,000 Deaths as ‘Good Outcome’ (10:32 a.m. NY)
Patrick Vallance, the U.K. government’s chief scientific adviser, said it would be horrible but a “good outcome” if Britain can keep its number of deaths below 20,000.
“Every year, in seasonal flu, the number of excess deaths is thought to be 8,000, so if we can get this down to 20,000 and below that’s a good outcome in terms of where we’d hope to get to,” Vallance told a panel of lawmakers in Parliament. “It’s still horrible, it’s still an enormous number of deaths and an enormous pressure on the health service.”
De Blasio Says ‘Absolutely’ Considering Shelter-in-Place Order (9:31 a.m. NY)
“We’re absolutely considering that,” New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said in response to a question about whether the city was considering a shelter-in-place order.
“It could get to that for sure, it could get to that for the whole country,” De Blasio said in a CNN interview Tuesday.
He also said the city would have to build “a huge amount of new hospitals,” and that it doesn’t have enough ventilators.
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