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The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 rose above 22,000 on Monday, as President Donald Trump railed against the nation’s top infectious disease expert for suggesting more lives could have been saved if restrictions on movement had been imposed earlier.
Trump on Sunday reposted a tweet calling for Dr. Anthony Fauci to be fired, and slammed a New York Times report that detailed how he was warned about the likelihood of a global pandemic but repeatedly resisted the advice of health care and intelligence experts.
In an interview with CNN, Fauci conceded that “logically” fewer people would have been infected if stay-at-home and social-distancing measures had been imposed in February, instead of mid-March. Fauci went to great lengths to explain that the decision was based on many considerations, but Trump still retweeted a message from former Republican congressional candidate, DeAnna Lorraine.
“Fauci was telling people on February 29 that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the U.S. at large,” said the tweet, which had the hashtag: Time to #FireFauci.”
Trump also attacked Fox News Anchor Chris Wallace for covering the New York Times article and for commenting that at his daily briefings, he’s been “getting into fights with governors he did not think were sufficiently appreciative or reporters.”
It was not the first time that Trump has bashed Wallace, whom the president said will never live up to his father’s legacy and should go work for one of the “fake news” networks.
A sailor from the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt died of complications from COVID-19, according to Navy officials cited by the Times on Monday, the first death for the crew of the ship, whose commander, Capt. Brett E. Crozier, was fired earlier this month after writing a letter to his superiors requesting help for crew members who had contracted the deadly illness.
In Europe, there was positive news from Spain where the death toll fell to 517 on Monday from 619 on Sunday, the smallest daily increase since the health ministry started tracking it. There are now 169,496 cases in Spain and 17,489 deaths, according to the health ministry. Some non-essential workers were allowed back to work on Monday.
There are now 1.87 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide and 116,052 people have died. At least 441,323 people have recovered.
The U.S. leads the world in number of cases at 558,526 and 22,146 deaths. Italy has 156,363 cases and 19,899 deaths, the highest death toll in Europe. France has 133,672 cases and 14,412 fatalities. Germany has 127,854 cases and 3,022 deaths.
The U.K. surpassed China in case numbers at 89,554. At least 11,346 Britons have died of the illness. China’s official case tally is 83,213 and 3,345 deaths, although some have suggested those numbers are understated. Iran, another hot spot, has 73,303 cases and 4,585 deaths.
New York remains the U.S. epicenter and recorded more than 700 deaths on Sunday for the sixth straight day, as the Associated Press reported. There have been 9,385 deaths from the virus in New York.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there are signs the curve of infections is flattening in the Empire State with the pace of hospitalizations and ICU admissions slowing. Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are at odds over whether to reopen schools before the end of the current academic year, with Cuomo saying it’s too early to decide.
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China reported another 108 COVID-19 cases and said 98 of them were cased by Chinese nationals returning home from overseas. Experts are watching closely to see if China suffers a second wave of infections. The World Health Organization said at the weekend that is looking into reports of people testing positive after recovering from the illness, after South Korean officials said 91 patients had tested positive again.
In medical news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorizations for medical devices, allowing them to decontaminate N95 or N95-equivalent respirators so that they can be reused by health care workers. The first was granted to Steris Corp. STE, -3.98%, the second to Advanced Sterilization Products INc., a unit of Fortive Corp. FTV, -3.21%
Separately, the FDA granted an EUA to CytoSorbents Corp. CTSO, +22.07% for its blood purification system.
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An emergency authorization is not considered an FDA approval but allows health care providers to utilize certain technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic given the lack of alternative options.
Companies continued to withdraw guidance, draw down credit lines, furlough workers and cut pay.
Here’s what companies said about COVID-19 on Monday:
• Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +5.00% is hiring 75,000 more employees, in addition to the 100,000 it already hired, to help meet increased demand. The company expects to invest more than $500 million in payroll increases, up from a previous estimate of $350 million, as hourly employees wages are increased by $2 an hour, and as hourly base pay for overtime hours worked was doubled. Amazon is increasing capacity for grocery delivery from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market “as quickly as possible,” with focus on “high-priority” items such as household staples and medical supplies.
• Food services company Aramark’s ARMK, -4.46% uniform services division has shifted production lines to make much-needed personal protective equipment for health care and other essential. The Philadelphia-based company will make scrubs, masks and isolation gowns, instead of its usual lab coats, work shirts, pants and coveralls. The company managed to convert its facilities in just one week and expects to produce millions of pieces of equipment once it is fully operational. A first shipment of scrubs and gowns was delivered last week and respirator and medical mask delivery is expected to begin mid-July. The PPE will be shipped from plants in Mexico to clients across the U.S. in the health care, pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and other industries where it’s needed
• Aurora Cannabis Inc. ACB, -14.27% ACB, -13.93% is taking steps to improve liquidity and regain compliance with New York Stock Exchange listing requirements, after its stock traded below $1 for more than 30 days. The board has approved a 1-for-12 reverse stock split scheduled for on or about May 11. The Canadian cannabis company had $205 million in cash at the end of March, including all amounts raised in an at-the-market (ATM) offering program initially announced in May of 2019. To bolster its balance sheet, the company is planning a renewed ATM program to raise additional equity capital on top the roughly $350 million that remains available under its outstanding shelf prospectus. Aurora is on track with its previously announced business transformation plan, that includes reducing SG & A costs, cutting capex and simplifying its business structure. It is still expecting fiscal third-quarter cannabis net revenue to show “modest growth” compared with the second quarter. The company’s Canadian and international facilities are fully operational.
• Baker Hughes Co. BKR, +2.95% expects to book a $15 billion noncash impairment charge in the first quarter, plus another $1.5 billion of restructuring, impairment and other charges. The $15 billion charge comes after its market cap declined sharply in the quarter as macro and geopolitical conditions pressured oil prices and as the pandemic hammered demand. Uncertainty regarding oil demand is having a significant impact on the investment and operating plans of the company’s primary customers. “Based on these events, Baker Hughes concluded that a triggering event occurred which required the company to perform an interim quantitative impairment test as of March 31, 2020,” the company said in a statement. The company is planning to reduce 2020 capital expenditures by about 20% compared with 2019. It had $3 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of year-end, excluding assets held on behalf of parent GE GE, -4.20%.
• Burlington Stores Inc. BURL, -6.31% has furloughed nearly all of its store associates and distribution center employees. The off-price retailer previously offered two weeks pay to workers for shuttered stores and distribution centers. Burlington CEO Michael O’Sullivan will not take his salary in the short term, the board will forego compensation and executive leaders will see their pay halved. Bonuses for fiscal 2019 as well as merit pay increases for fiscal 2020 have been delayed. Burlington is planning to offer $300 million of bonds that mature in 2025.
• Chubb Ltd. CB, -1.76% became the latest insurer to offer relief to its car insurance customers as drivers are staying at home more during the coronavirus pandemic and there are fewer accidents. The company is offering a 35% premium reduction for April and May and will give out additional discounts over the subsequent months. Across the company’s portfolio, the average premium cut is expected to come to $110 per vehicle.
• Danaher Corp. DHR, -0.82% expects revenue growth of about 3% for the quarter ended April 3. The company, which makes products for the health care, environmental and applied end-markets, expects positive results in each of its three operating segments, with particular strength in its Cepheid, Radiometer, Pall and ChemTreat businesses. “While we had a good start to the year, we saw a meaningful slowdown in demand toward the end of the quarter, particularly in our more instrument-oriented businesses, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread worldwide,” the company said. It is withdrawing guidance offered on Jan. 30 because of the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
• Ford Motors Co. F, -5.40% warned of a first-quarter revenue miss and said it’s considering additional financing actions to boost cash as the pandemic has stalled global commerce. Ford expects to report revenue of $34 billion for the quarter, below the FactSet consensus of $37.2 billion. Only its joint ventures in China are producing wholesale vehicles, and it’s considering a phased restart of its manufacturing plants and supply network beginning in the second quarter. Ford had $30 billion in cash on its balance sheet as of April 9, giving it enough cash to get through “at least the end of the third quarter” with no vehicle production and wholesales or financing actions.
• General Electric Co. GE, -4.20% announced refinancing and deleveraging actions in an effort to bolster its financial position, as the pandemic is having a “material adverse impact” on its business. GE is issuing debt to fund a tender offer for GE bonds maturing through 2024, in order to extend the debt maturities; it used part of the $20 billion proceeds from the sale of its BioPharma business to repay $6 billion of its intercompany loan to GE Capital; GE Capital is launching a tender for up to $9 billion of debt maturing in 2020; and GE Capital repaid $4.7 billion of debt that matured in the first quarter.
• Groupon Inc. GRPN, -2.75% has adopted a shareholder rights plan, also known as a “poison pill,” that will be exercisable if an investor or investor group becomes a beneficial owner of 10% or more of the online-deals company.
• Grubhub Inc.’s GRUB, -8.71% orders fell in the last weeks of March, particularly in its corporate business, and the company now expects first-quarter daily average grubs (DAGs) to be “up flattish” from a year ago. Revenue is expected to be “slightly above” the midpoint of previous guidance. The FactSet DAG consensus of $538.7 implies 3.4% growth, while the revenue consensus of $358.1 million is slightly below the $360 million midpoint of its $350 million to $370 million guidance range. So far in April, DAG growth has been about 10%. The second-quarter FactSet DAG consensus of $521.2 million implies 6.6% growth.
• Live Nation Entertainment Inc. LYV, -2.67% is amending an existing credit agreement, tapping an additional revolving credit facility and launching a cost-cutting program. The amendment will suspend a net leverage covenant under its senior secured credit agreement for the second and third quarters, offering it the flexibility to manage its business through the disruption expected in 2020. The company has received an additional revolving credit facility of $120 million, giving it about $940 million in available debt capacity. It now has liquidity of $3.8 billion. As of March 31, Live Nation had sold more than 45 million tickets for shows scheduled for 2020, down 2% from the same period a year ago. Sales do not include 1.6 million tickets for canceled shows and 1.5 million tickets for shows moved back to 2021.
• Performance Food Group Co. PFGC, -4.95% has furloughed about 3,000 employees across the company, suspended stock repurchases, further reduced capital expenditures, deferred 25% of senior management’s base salaries and board of directors’ cash fees from April 6 through the end of the year and drawn $400 million from a $3.0 billion credit facility. The company is adding agreements with 13 new retail partners, is now distributing groceries to about 1,000 grocery locations and is sharing over 1,100 employees to help keep grocery shelves stocked.
• Purple Innovations Inc. PRPL, -0.14% is refocusing on its direct-to-consumer online business after a consumer shift to e-commerce in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The mattress maker has seen its wholesale business drop as stores temporarily shutter and it withdrew its 2020 guidance. Online sales accelerated in the last half of March and through early April, particularly for “ancillary” items like pillows, sheets and seat cushions, according to a statement by Joe Megibow, Purple chief executive. Online sales have grown 35% year-over-year in the first quarter. Still, to preserve liquidity, Purple has adjusted its production schedule and furloughed 35% of permanent staff. The company is suspending all non-essential hires and delaying non-maintenance-related capital investments.
