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The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 rose above 4,000 on Wednesday and financial markets sold off again, after President Donald Trump warned Americans to brace for two painful weeks as the numbers continue to climb.
The White House revealed models that suggest the number of deaths could rise to 100,000 to 240,000 deaths, even if current containment measures are observed. The sobering new forecasts reinforced the need to follow the protocols set by health experts, including social distancing and staying at home as much as possible. Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, said those numbers could be greatly reduced if everyone does their part: “We really believe we can do a lot better than that,” Birx said.
In Europe, France and the U.K. reported 500 deaths in a single day for the first time since the outbreak, while Spain passed 100,000 cases. The United Nations said the world is facing its worst crisis since World War II.
“This is the moment to dismantle trade barriers, maintain open trade, and re-establish supply chains,” the U.N. said in a report, that called from “a large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive multilateral response amounting to at least 10% of global GDP.”
China, which appeared to be reopening for business after its mass quarantine efforts, ordered some public venues to close again as it moves to prevent a second wave of infections. China’s National Health Commission said it would start to include asymptomatic cases in its tally of confirmed cases. Until now, China has only counted people who exhibited symptoms of the illness, which include a sore throat, dry cough and fever.
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The U.S. still has the highest number of cases of any country at 189,753. At least 4,090 Americans have died and 7,151 have recovered, according to data aggregated by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Globally, the data shows 883,225 cases and at least 44,156 deaths. Italy has 105,792 cases and the highest death toll in the world at 12,428. Spain has 102,136 cases and at least 9,053 deaths.
China, where the virus was first identified late last year, has 82,361 cases, according to Johns Hopkins data, and 3,316 deaths. Germany now has 73,217 cases and 802 deaths, while France has 52,836 cases and 3,532 deaths. Iran has 47,593 cases and 3,036 deaths.
New York is still the U.S. epicenter with 75,795 cases as of Tuesday, according to the New York State Health Department. New York City is the state’s epicenter, accounting for 43,139 cases. The death toll in New York has soared past 1,000 and more than 2,000 nurses, 500 paramedics and technicians and 250 ambulances from across the country are making their way to the Big Apple, following a plea for help from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo again slammed the federal government for its response to the crisis, this time by describing the scramble to get hold of much-needed ventilators. Cuomo told reporters on Tuesday that the national stockpile is rapidly shrinking and states are competing to order equipment with each other and with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
It’s like “being on eBay with 50 other states, bidding on a ventilator,” Cuomo fumed to reporters.
The New York Police Department said at least 1,200 officers and staff have tested positive for the virus, and five have died as of Tuesday, according to Commissioner Dermot F. Shea on a webcast. But the total number of infected officers could be far higher, as some 5,600 department employees called out sick on Tuesday, five times the usual daily volume. Sick police officers accounted for roughly 15% of the uniformed force, he said.
Companies continued to announce fresh measures to combat the impact on their business of having most workers stay home. Retailers announced further or extended store closures, said they would furlough staff and pulled guidance. Analysts highlighted the advantage pizza companies have over other restaurants given they have delivery and digital infrastructure in place. MKM upgraded Papa John’s on that basis to buy.
Bernstein analysts raised their stock price target for Netflix and said they expect consumers will not want to give it up, once they get used to the wide range of programming and shows available in its library.
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Goldman Sachs added Verizon to its Conviction List and said the telecoms company has “the most attractive combination of total return and risk owing to its stable wireless business, well-covered dividend (4.6% yield) and strong balance sheet.”
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Here’s what companies are saying about COVID-19 on Wednesday:
• Centene Corp. CNC, -3.73% will cover the cost of COVID-19-related screening, testing, and for people who have its Medicare, Medicaid and health insurance exchange plans. It is also eliminating COVID-19-related copays and prior authorization requirements.
• Children’s Place Inc. PLCE, -12.27% will furlough field managers and store employees starting April 5 and will suspend dividend and share buybacks. Stores have been closed since March 18 and will remain closed until further notice. The company plans on a combination of temporary furloughs and pay cuts for most of its corporate staff. Chief Executive Jane Elfers will forgo her salary and executives will take a temporary 25% pay cut, the company said.
• Fashion clothing retailer Express Inc. EXPR, -9.40% is furloughing most of its store workers as well as some corporate workers until its stores are able and allowed to reopen. The company is pausing pay for those workers but will continue to pay health care benefits. The company is significantly cutting costs and spending, is suspending merit pay increases for 2020 and freezing hiring.
• Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.’s FCAU, -4.52% U.S. subsidiary, FCA U.S. LLC’s first-quarter sales fell 10% from a year ago, as “strong” momentum in January and February was offset by the negative economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic in March. U.S. sales fell to 446,768 vehicles from 498,425 a year ago. A bright spot for the auto maker was its Ram brand, which saw sales rise 3%, while Jeep brand sales fell 14%, Chrysler sales declined 5%, Dodge sales dropped 20%, Fiat sales slid 49% and Alfa Romeo sales shed 14%.
• Gannett Co. Inc. GCI, -12.50% is suspending its quarterly dividend, in an effort to preserve liquidity. In late February, the USA Today parent said it planned to resume paying a quarterly dividend of 19 cents a share. Revenue is expected to be “significantly impacted” as advertising and events revenue are expected to decline. Gannett is looking to cut expenses by an additional $100 million to $125 million through job cuts and furloughs, “significant” pay reductions for senior management and the cancellation of nonessential travel and spending. The company is working with its vendors, creditors and pension regulators to restructure or postpone certain obligations.
• General Motors Co.’s GM, -7.70% first-quarter deliveries fell 7% from a year ago to 618,335 vehicles, as the auto industry experienced “significant declines” in March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Deliveries fell for all of GM’s brands, with Chevrolet down 3.8%, Buick down 34.7%, Cadillac down 15.8% and GMC down 5.5%. The model with the most deliveries was Chevrolet’s Silverado LD, as that increased 33.6% to 112,925 vehicles, followed by the Chevy Equinox, which dropped 17.0% to 73,453 vehicles. GM said inventory at the end of the first quarter was 668,443 vehicles, down 18% from last year.
• Home Depot Inc. HD, -3.39% will close its stores early at 6 p.m., limit the number of customers allowed in its stores at one time, eliminate major spring promotions to avoid increasing traffic, distribute thermometers to employees in stores and ask for health checks before reporting to work. The retailer is adding 80 hours of paid time off for full-time hourly employees, 160 hours of paid time off for full-time hourly employees aged 65 or older and 40 hours of paid time off for part-time hourly employees. The company is providing additional bonuses of $100 a week for full-time hourly in-store employees and $50 a week for part-time employees, and providing paid time off for employees who have contracted COVID-19 and to employees required to be quarantined.
• Kroger KR, +2.99% is one of the rare U.S. companies to stick with its 2020 guidance and expects same-store sales excluding fuel to exceed 2.25% and earnings per share of $2.30 to $2.40. Kroger has drawn down $1 billion from its revolving credit facility and has suspended share buybacks. Kroger also announced another bonus for front-line workers.
• Match Group Inc.’s MTCH, -5.19% earnings will be at low end of guidance amid fewer new users. “We expect our Q1 results to be around the low end of the ranges we previously shared publicly,” company Chief Executive Shar Dubey warned in a regulatory filing.
• Okta Inc. OKTA, -0.40% reaffirmed its revenue forecast for the current quarter and fiscal year, but management expects “near-term billings headwinds” as customers react to the uncertain situation. The company, which makes software that helps employees and others more easily sign into network applications, expects a narrower adjusted operating loss and adjusted net loss than it previously modeled. For the fiscal first quarter, Okta expects an adjusted net loss of 16 cents to 17 cents, compared with a prior forecast for 23 cents to 24 cents. For the current fiscal year, management models a 31-cent to 36-cent adjusted net loss. Its earlier outlook for the period called for 37 cents to 42 cents.
• Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. RRGB, -14.67% has drawn down what remains of its $300 million credit facility. The restaurant chain has a cash balance of $91 million as of the end of its last fiscal week on March 29. The company has suspended guidance for 2020, reduced executive base salaries and board retainer fees by 20% as of March 30, and postponed capital expenditures. Red Robin is still marketing its off-premise business, largely through digital channels.
Additional reporting by Emily Bary, Tonya Garcia, Tomi Kilgore, Claudia Assis, Jon Swartz and Jaimy Lee
