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The number of cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 rose to 2.5 million on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump said he would temporarily suspend immigration and New York’s death tally crossed the 18,000 mark.
Trump tweeted late Monday that he would sign an executive order halting immigration, although he did not offer any further details. Trump has sought to defend his record on managing the pandemic by repeating that he restricted travel from China and European centers to slow the spread, although he has not as yet extended such restrictions to other countries with major clusters.
The State Department has already suspended almost all visa processing, including immigrant visas, because of the pandemic.
The U.S. has the most cases of COVID-19 in the world at 788,110 and the most deaths at 42,374, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, with New York accounting for almost half of those deaths. Globally, there are now 2.5 million cases and 171,718 deaths, the data show.
In Europe, Spain has the most cases at 204,178 and 21,282 deaths. Italy has 181,228 cases and 24,114 deaths, the highest number of fatalities in Europe. France has 156,493 cases and 20,294 deaths, while Germany has 147,103 cases and just 4,862 deaths.
The U.K. has 125,856 cases and 16,550 deaths. Turkey has now moved above China with 90,980 cases and 2,140 deaths. China, where the disease was first reported late last year, has 83,849 cases and 4,636 deaths.
There was more bad news from Singapore overnight, with the city-island reporting another 1,100 new cases among migrant worker dormitories. In an address to the nation, Singaporean President Lee Hsieng Loong extended the country’s lockdown by another four weeks until June 1. The news is especially disappointing, coming after Singapore appeared to have the outbreak under control. The lockdown of schools and workplaces was meant to be lifted on May 4.
The World Health Organization said the virus most likely came from bats in China late last year, dismissing speculation that it was manipulated or made in a laboratory, as some conspiracies allege.
“All available evidence suggests the virus has an animal origin and is not manipulated or constructed virus in a lab or somewhere else,” WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a Geneva press briefing. “It is probable, likely, that the virus is of animal origin.”
The agency also warned countries not to end lockdown measures too soon, as a second wave of infections cannot be ruled out if containment measures are eased, the AP reported.
“This is not the time to be lax. Instead, we need to ready ourselves for a new way of living for the foreseeable future,” said Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the WHO regional director for the Western Pacific.
Spain is set to allow children under 12 outdoors for closely supervised and brief trips as of April 27, after about six weeks under strict orders to stay at home. Spain has been pummeled by COVID-19, leading to some of the strictest rules on mobility in Europe and beyond.
Read now: A glimmer of light at the end of the lockdown tunnel in Spain
Italy said it plans to start easing its lockdown later this week as the number of confirmed cases fell by 20 for the first time since the start of the deadly outbreak. Denmark is banning gatherings of more than 500 until September. Denmark has been one of the first European countries to start to reopen its economy, but was also one of the first to impose full lockdown restrictions on March 12. Denmark has some 7,695 confirmed cases and just 370 deaths.
Bavaria’s renowned Oktoberfest has been canceled to avoid the spread of the virus, as the Associated Press reported. The annual beer festival was set to run from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 and typically draws about 6 million visitors a year and generates about 1 billion euros in revenue.
In the U.S., Massachusetts is fast becoming a hot spot with more than 1,800 deaths reported. In Georgia, local mayors have criticized Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to reopen businesses including hair salons, tattoo studios and massage parlors this week. Kemp, a Republican, has not based the move on any known science, one mayor said, according to the Guardian.
In corporate America, the first-quarter earnings season pressed ahead with reports from Dow components Coca-Cola Co. KO, -0.07% and insurer Travelers Cos. TRV, +3.96%, among others. Netflix Inc. NFLX, -1.38% and Snap Inc. SNAP, -0.77% are on tap after the bell. Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT, -0.70% surprised by maintaining its full-year guidance, which most companies have been withdrawing because of the uncertain outlook.
Others continued to announce bond sales, to tap credit lines and cut costs and furlough workers.
Here’s what companies had to say about COVID-19 on Tuesday:
• Chuy’s Holdings Inc.’s CHUY, -3.96% first-quarter same-store sales declined 9.7%. Same-store sales grew 3.1% for the first 10 weeks of the quarter, but fell 16.8%, 67.0% and 63.5%, respectively, for the final three weeks. For the first three weeks of the second quarter, same-store sales have fallen 60.8%, 57.4% and 49.7%, respectively. Off-premise average sales have grown from $12,000 for the week ending March 8 to $42,660 for the week ending April 19. Cash burn is about $500,000 a week. Chuy’s has furloughed 80% of its hourly workers, about 40% of store management and 40% of corporate and administrative staff with temporary salary cuts for those remaining. Senior management salaries have been reduced by 50% to 75%, and board fees and rent payments have been suspended. Chuy’s is negotiating an extension of its revolving credit facility to the end of 2021 and an easing of covenants.
• Olive Garden operator Darden Restaurants Inc. DRI, -0.25% is selling $400 million of stock after same-restaurant sales declined 44.7% during the fourth quarter. The restaurant operator has improved its weekly cash burn rate to $20 million, including capital expenditures. The underwriters have the option to purchase an additional $60 million worth of stock..
• Equifax Inc. EFX, +5.47% reported earnings that topped consensus estimate, but pulled its full-year guidance due to the economic impact of the pandemic. The company will discuss the impact of the coronavirus on its revenue on a Tuesday earnings call.
• Express Inc. EXPR, -4.16% is adopting a shareholder rights plan to avoid any group or individual from taking advantage of the slump in the company’s share price during the pandemic. The Columbus, Ohio-based clothing retailer’s plan, also known as a poison pill, has a one-year term and is not being introduced in the face of any known bid or other proposal to take over the company. Many companies have adopted similar plans during the pandemic, which has stalled the economy as workers are ordered to stay at home and plants and retail outlets are closed.
• Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. GO, +0.80% expects a 17% jump in same-store sales in the first quarter, about four times as much as the growth it saw in the first quarter of 2019. April sales trends “have moderated” compared to the “pantry-loading in March,” but Grocery Outlet said comparable-store sales trends for the first three fiscal weeks of April “were in the positive high-single digits in percentage terms.” The company expects net sales to increase 25% to $760 million, which would compare with $606 million in the first quarter of 2019 and includes sales from recently opened stores. The discount grocer expects its profit to be between $8.8 million and $9.9 million, compared with $3.8 million in the year-ago period.
• Impossible Foods, a maker of plant-based “meat” substitutes and rival of Beyond Meat Inc. BYND, +6.81% is launching a program with San Francisco-based food wholesaler Cheetah to offer its third-pound Impossible Burger patties to consumers. New guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allow food companies to offer inventory ingredients directly to consumers, giving them more flexibility with food labeling that was not originally intended for a retail market. Cheetah will offer its third-pound patties in a single pack (8 patties) for $33.31, and a case of four packs (32 patties) for $109.76. Impossible Foods is also selling its products directly to consumers through pickup and delivery at restaurants and is working to build out its grocery store presence.
• A run on jelly during the coronavirus pandemic has created “unprecedented customer and consumer demand” in the U.S. and Canada, prompting J.M. Smucker Co. SJM, -1.97% to raise guidance for the company’s fiscal year ending on April 20. It now expects net sales to be down 1% rather than 3% as it previously said. At the same time, the company said adjusted earnings per share will top the high end of its previous guidance range of $8.10 to $8.30 per share.
• ManpowerGroup MAN, +3.85% reported earnings that missed expectations, although revenue topped forecasts, as the pandemic “significantly disrupted” its clients and demand for services. The company is not providing second-quarter guidance, as it can’t forecast when governments will lift current work restrictions. l
• Micron Technology Inc. MU, -4.03% is planning an offering of senior notes with plans to use the proceeds to repay some of its existing debt under a revolving credit facility. The chip maker did not offer any details of size or maturity. Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley are joint book runners on the deal.
• Performance Food Group Co. PFGC, -5.34% is launching an offering of $250 million of senior notes that mature in 2025. The company will use the proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes.
• SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. SEAS, +5.94% is offering $227.5 million of first-priority senior secured notes that mature in 2025 in a private deal. Proceeds will be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including amending a credit agreement. Separately, the theme park operator said the amendment eases certain financial maintenance covenants for the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020, that will be restored in the first quarter of 2021. SeaWorld has taken a series of measures to conserve cash and combat the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has shuttered its parks, including furloughing workers, reducing executive pay and deferring certain spending. The company expects its net cash outflows to be up about $25 million a month while parks are closed. Before it was forced to close its facilities, SeaWorld was enjoying a strong start to the year with record attendance and revenue in the first two months of the year. Total revenue came to about $121 million, up about $13 million from the first two months of 2019. The company’s net loss of about $24 million was an improvement of about $16 million from the year-earlier period. The company now expects first-quarter revenue of $150 million to $155 million
• Vans parent VF Corp. VFC, -3.65% plans to publicly offer senior debt to be issued in four tranches. The company will use the proceeds to repay borrowings under its revolving credit facility. On March 23, VF said it had $2.25 billion in the revolver, and the company said on April 7 that it drew down the “remaining” amount available. Separately, the company expects to report revenue for the year ended March 28, 2020 of $11.3 billion to $11.4 billion, which is below the FactSet consensus of $11.5 billion.
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