Health and Science

California loans 500 ventilators to national stockpile, US coronavirus cases now number 364,000

Tesla reveals prototype ventilator made from electric vehicle parts
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Tesla reveals prototype ventilator made from electric vehicle parts

This is CNBC's live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are in Eastern time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. 

  • Global cases: More than 1,337,749
  • Global deaths: At least 74,169
  • US cases: At least 362,759
  • US deaths: At least 10,689

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

7:30 pm: Michigan health system expects peak later this week

After more than 600 employees of the Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System tested positive for coronavirus, another Michigan health system is expecting a peak later this week.

"We're handling it pretty well. We're doing certainly the best that we can," Dr. Sanford Vieder, emergency and trauma center chairman at Beaumont Health in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, told CNBC's Tyler Mathisen on Monday. "Everybody is working long hours, and we're certainly worried about our workforce, and it's a marathon.

"The health system has plenty of personal protective equipment and has found a way to sterilize N95 masks, although staffers are concerned about supply, Vieder said.Many people have gone home from Beaumont's facilities after recovering, he said."I know there's a lot of focus right now on all the deaths, which of course are extremely tragic, but there are a lot of victories, and fortunately more victories than we have losses," he said. —Jordan Novet

7:03 pm: White House health advisor Fauci says we will never get back to 'normal'

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci speaks during an unscheduled briefing after a Coronavirus Task Force meeting at the White House on April 5, 2020, in Washington, DC.
Eric Baradat | AFP | Getty Images

The world may never get back to what is considered "normal" before the coronavirus emerged from Wuhan, China a little over three months ago and spread to more than 1.3 million people across the world, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

Fauci, in answering a question about whether the world would get back to normal before a vaccine is approved, said we will gradually be able to "function as a society. But you're absolutely right, if you want to get to pre-coronavirus, that might not ever happen in the sense that the threat is there."

COVID-19 has spread to almost every country in the world, killing more than 74,000.

"When we say getting back to normal we mean something very different from what we're going through right now because right now we are in a very intense mitigation," Fauci said. —Noah Higgins-Dunn

6:55 pm: Washington state closes schools for the year

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced that the state will keep schools closed through the end of the school year.

Inslee closed public and private K-12 schools on March 17, and the restriction was supposed to be in place until April 24.

"To families: I know that it'll be difficult to find a new normal at home. But we must put the health and safety of our community first," Inslee wrote in a tweet on Monday. —Jordan Novet

6:51 pm: From chew toys to medical masks: Montana's hardest-hit county fights back against coronavirus

Bozeman, Montana has a population of 48,532, but just like big cities in New York and California, this small city in the southern part of the state has seen the demand for medical masks skyrocket.

Located in Gallatin County, Bozeman is home to more than one-third of Montana's confirmed COVID-19 cases, and is by far the hardest-hit county in the state. As of Monday, April 6, there are about 299 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state and six deaths. 

The need to help protect local doctors and nurses, and their patients, has inspired a brigade of volunteers to take action and start making professional-grade medical masks. —Ray Parisi

6:45 pm: WHO says there's a global shortfall of 5.9 million nurses as world battles coronavirus pandemic

Health workers wear protective masks as they observe a minute's silence at the entrance of the Hospital Doctor Peset in remembrance of nursing staff who have died due to Covid-19 on April 06, 2020 in Valencia, Spain.
Rober Solsona | Europa Press News | Getty Images

The World Health Organization is urging countries to create at least 6 million new nursing jobs by 2030 to offset a projected "global shortfall" as health-care workers across the world respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nursing is the largest occupational group in the health-care sector, accounting for roughly 59% of health professions, WHO says. There are just under 28 million nurses worldwide, about 5.9 million short of what the world needs to adequately care for the growing population, according to a new report published Monday from WHO, the International Council of Nurses and Nursing Now.

The greatest deficit of nurses is in low- to low-middle income countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean region and some parts of Latin America, according to the report, which looked at 191 countries using data between 2013 and 2018.

More than 80% of the world's nurses work in countries that account for half of the world's population, according to the report's findings. —Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

6:39 pm: Trump says there's light at the end of the tunnel with vaccine and treatment research

While the coming days in the nation's coronavirus fight look bleak, President Donald Trump gave Americans some reason to hope. "There's tremendous light at the end of the tunnel," he said at a White House press briefing.

"Currently, ten different therapeutic agents are in active trials and some are looking incredibly successful," he said. "But they have to go through a process and it's going to be a quick process based on what the FDA told me." He said another 15 potential treatments are working toward clinical trials, "so they're advancing rapidly."

Trump echoed comments made earlier Monday by World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said the research to develop vaccines and treatments to fight the coronavirus has "accelerated at incredible speed."

Tedros said more than 70 countries have joined WHO's trial to accelerate research on effective treatments and "about 20 institutions and companies are racing to develop a vaccine." —Noah Higgins-Dunn

6:34 pm: California loans 500 ventilators tonational stockpile

California is loaning the U.S. 500 ventilators so the federal government can send them to states in need, including New York, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in an appearance to provide updates on the state's coronavirus response.

"New York is one of the states that is in desperate need of the ventilators," Newsom said.

The state felt it could share the ventilators because California hospitals have over 11,000 ventilators, up from about 7,600 a few weeks ago, after refurbishing older units and getting new ones, Newsom said. The state is working on getting more, and it can get back the ones it's loaning the U.S., he said. —Jordan Novet

6:28 pm: Updated map of cases in the US, which now total 362,759

6:25 pm: Starbucks to require baristas to wear face masks

Starbucks will require all employees to wear facial coverings, beginning Tuesday. The company has provided a tutorial on how to make a face mask for baristas who do not have their own, using supplies available in stores.

Starbucks is also planning to source non-medical grade face masks and thermometers for optional temperature checks at all open locations. —Amelia Lucas

6:22 pm: Billionaire mall owner: Retailers will need to adapt to consumer shifts from the coronavirus

Biggest threat to brick and mortar is current version of themselves: Rick Caruso
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Biggest threat to brick and mortar is current version of themselves: Rick Caruso

Retailers will need to respond to a "really significant" shift in consumer behavior as a result of the coronavirus crisis, billionaire mall owner Rick Caruso told CNBC on Monday. 

"The biggest threat to brick-and-mortar retail is really the current version of themselves," Caruso said on "Closing Bell." "Many of them have to evolve. Many of them have to change because the consumer is going to change." 

Caruso, whose eponymous firm owns outdoor malls The Grove in Los Angeles and The Americana at Brand in Glendale, California, said he thought there would be retail winners and losers after the coronavirus. 

"I think the winners are going to be very connected. They're going to be curated. They're going to feel more local," he said. "They're going to feel more personalized, and they're going to have a better value proposition." —Kevin Stankiewicz

6:17 pm: Trump and 3M strike deal to bring 55.5 million masks a month to US to help coronavirus response

3M N95 particulate filtering face mask are seen at a store in East Palo Alto, California, United States on January 26, 2020.
Yichuan Cao | NurPhoto | Getty Images

President Donald Trump said that the White House and 3M reached a "very amicable agreement" that will bring more than 55 million masks to the U.S. each month, following a public dispute between the manufacturing giant and the president.

"So the 3M saga ends very happily," Trump concluded at a White House press briefing on the coronavirus outbreak.

"We're very proud to be dealing, now, with 3M," Trump said. The president added that he thanked 3M CEO Mike Roman, who was "very happy to get it done."

The remarks at the latest daily press briefing marked a major shift in tone for the president, who last week harshly accused 3M 

Trump said that 3M will provide "an additional 55.5 million high-quality face masks each month, so that we're going to be getting over the next couple of months 166.5 masks for our frontline health-care workers." —Kevin Breuninger

6:11 pm: Stock futures fall slightly following sharp rebound on hopes pandemic is stabilizing

Stock futures fell slightly in overnight trading, following a steep rebound in the previous session, as investors grew more hopeful that the peak in coronavirus cases could be reached soon.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped about 70 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq futures also traded slightly lower. —Yun Li

5:30 pm: California Bishop says this is a Lent Catholics will 'never forget'

Bishop Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles told Catholics to not get discouraged by the coronavirus pandemic in the week leading up to Easter. "In a way, to come face to face with the darkness of life, with death itself, that's essential to this Holy Week," Barron said on CNBC's "Power Lunch."

Barron, the archdiocese's auxiliary bishop and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, said this will be a Lenten season "we'll never forget." "This is what we do: We face death with the confidence of the resurrection," he said.  —Kevin Stankiewicz

5:15 pm: Boeing to suspend 787 production in South Carolina 'until further notice'

Boeing on Monday said it will suspend operations at its 787 factories in South Carolina because of coronavirus, a move that puts all of the manufacturer's final assembly of commercial airplanes on hold due to the pandemic.

The company a day earlier said it would indefinitely extend a shutdown at commercial airplane factories in the Seattle area because of the virus. —Leslie Josephs

4:45 pm: Photos show patients arriving at the Javits Center field hospital

Members of the National Guard exit the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center as the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Manhattan, in New York, U.S., April 5, 2020.
Eduordo Munoz | REUTERS

In just over a week, The Jacob K. Javits Center has been transformed into a field hospital operated by the U.S. National Guard and has started to take in coronavirus patients to help alleviate the stress on existing hospital systems.

The hospital is now set up to accommodate 2500 beds and is prepared to add additional beds if needed. The federal government also deployed the USNS Comfort to New York which is now docked at Port 90 on the Hudson River and has started to receive coronavirus patients. An additional field hospital was also set up in Central Park in conjunction with Mount Sinai Hospital and the Samiritan's Purse Disaster Relief organization. —Adam Jefferey

4:35 pm: Checkpoints between Texas and Louisiana now in effect

Those traveling between Texas and Louisiana will now have to go through checkpoints set up on roadways that cross the border between the two states. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mandated a 14-day self-quarantine on March 30 for road travelers arriving in Texas from anywhere in Louisiana, excluding those traveling in connection with commercial activity, military service, emergency response, health response or critical-infrastructure functions.

Prior to the checkpoints being implemented, the Texas Department of Public Safety was pulling over vehicles, according to a tweet from Abbott. Those traveling from Louisiana who are required to self-quarantine must designate a quarantine location in Texas, such as a residence or a hotel, and provide a full name, date of birth, home address, telephone number and driver license or passport information, according to Abbott's mandate. —Hannah Miller

4:12 pm: California Gov. Newsom launches 'phase one' of coronavirus response, seeks 50,000 hospital beds

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will launch "phase one" of its emergency coronavirus response and will seek an additional 50,000 hospital beds on top of the 75,000 beds currently in the state's hospital system.

Newsom said he's asked the state's hospitals to surge their capacity by roughly 40%, which he predicts will create an additional 30,000 beds across the state. The additional 20,000 beds needed to reach the state's phase one goal will be created through local partnerships, Newsom said. Earlier on Monday, Newsom announced California would lend hard-hit states like New York additional ventilators, sending 500 ventilators to the national stockpile. Newsom said the state has been effective in its ability to refurbish or procure additional ventilators and its supply now totals over 11,000, up from nearly 7,500 a few weeks prior. "If we need them back in a few weeks we'll get them back," Newsom said. "These are lent, they are not given." —Noah Higgins-Dunn

4 pm: Dow soars more than 1,500 points as growth rate of new coronavirus cases appears to slow

Stocks jumped on Monday, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous week, as the number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. appeared to slow down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 1,311 points higher, or more than 6%. The S&P 500 gained 6% along with the Nasdaq Composite. —Fred Imbert

3:50 pm: Fiat Chrysler extends plant shutdowns

Fiat Chrysler is extending shutdowns of its U.S. and Canadian auto plants due to the coronavirus until May 4, a company spokeswoman said Monday. The company's most recent plans – announced less than two weeks ago – were to begin reopening the facilities after April 14.

FCA continues to make the health and well-being of its employees a top priority," the company said in an emailed statement. "With that in mind, FCA intends to progressively restart its U.S. and Canadian manufacturing facilities beginning May 4." Fiat Chrysler's postponement comes less than a week after Ford Motor indefinitely delayed the reopening of its plants after announcing plans to restart production at "key" U.S. facilities on April 14. GM has suspended the restart of its plants indefinitely.

Fiat Chrysler said executives are working with government officials and the United Auto Workers union "to implement new procedures to certify the daily wellness of our workforce while also redesigning work stations to maintain proper social distancing and expanding the already extensive cleaning protocols at all locations."
The Italian-American automaker said the status of production at its Mexican operations will "be subject to a separate announcement." —Mike Wayland

3:30 pm: Travel nurses race to New York and other coronavirus hot spots: 'They are literally in a war zone'

The coronavirus outbreak ravaging parts of the U.S. has upended the health-care system. Across the country, hospitals are scrambling for doctors, nurses and protective gear, and travel nurses like Soper, who's from Columbus, Kansas, are helping to fill the void as state and federal officials scramble to try to curb the up to 240,000 deaths projected over the coming weeks.

Travel nurses constitute a relatively small portion of the 3.8 million registered nurses in the U.S., but they are crucial in bridging the gap of supply when hospitals demand more personnel. Now medical staffing firms are racing to fill expected holes at hospitals bracing for an unprecedented influx of patients with COVID-19 across the country, which now has at least 337,600 confirmed cases of the coronavius. —Noah Higgins-Dunn

3:15 pm: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in intensive care after coronavirus condition 'worsened'

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street for PMQs at the House of Commons on 25 March, 2020 in London, England.
Wiktor Szymanowicz | NurPhoto | Getty Images

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to intensive care as his coronavirus symptoms worsened, news outlets reported Monday.

"Since Sunday evening, the Prime Minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas' Hospital, in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus," a spokesman for No. 10 Downing Street said in a statement.

"Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital," the spokesman said.

"The PM has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputize for him where necessary."

"The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication," the spokesman added. —Kevin Breuninger

Members of the news media gather outside St Thomas' Hospital in London on April 6, 2020.
TOLGA AKMEN | AFP | Getty Images

2:45 pm: Oil drops 8% amid uncertainty over production cuts

Oil prices fell on Monday amid ongoing uncertainty around the prospect of production cuts. The move lower came even as the CEO of Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF told CNBC that Moscow and Riyadh were "very close" to an oil deal, and as Russia reportedly said it was ready to reduce output, according to Reuters.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 7.97% to settle at $26.08 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude futures dipped 3.1% to settle at $33.05 per barrel. —Pippa Stevens

2:25 pm: Land's End furloughs almost all retail employees

Land's End announced that it had taken multiple actions to reduce costs amidst the coronavirus pandemic, including furloughing almost 100% of it retail associates and around 70% of its corporate employees. The furlough began March 28 and is expected to last through at least May 1 for most workers.

The clothing retailer said it would continue to fund the health insurance premiums of furloughed employees. The company also undertook other cost-cutting measures such as temporarily reducing employees' base salaries. Land's End CEO and President Jerome Griffiths saw his base salary temporarily reduced by 50%. The retailer also temporarily suspended the Company's 401 (k) match and reduced compensation for the Board of Directors, while cutting capital expenditures to approximately $20 million in 2020 from $40 million in 2019. Land's End also said that its 26 stores in the U.S., which closed March 16, will remain closed until further notice. —Hannah Miller

2:10 pm: Stampede for emergency loans is crushing lenders, putting millions of small businesses at risk

On Friday the U.S. government tried to launch the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program as part of the CARES Act. The PPP is being administered through the existing banking systems of Small Business Administration lenders. Some banks weren't ready. Some are already inundated.

Bank of America confirmed that it has received applications from 177,000 small businesses for a total of $32.6 billion in financing. Wells Fargo said it was at capacity for its allotment under the program. 

Meanwhile, anger over both these programs is building in the small business community. They don't even know the half of it. As the program rolls out further, more flaws are likely to become apparent. The confusing legislation favors companies that already have relationships with lenders and leaves out many of the most vulnerable businesses. —Elizabeth MacBride

2:04 pm: Airbus halts airplane production in Alabama because of COVID-19 

Airbus is halting production of narrow-body planes at its factory in Mobile, Ala., facilities just months ago it was hoping to ramp up to meet strong demand.

The pause will last from this week until April 29. The European rival to Boeing is also halting production and assembly in Bremen and Stade facilities, until April 27 and April 11, respectively.

Boeing on Sunday said it would extend the production shutdown at its Seattle-area factories indefinitely, the latest strain on aerospace giants and their suppliers as COVID-19 hits production and demand for aircraft. —Leslie Josephs

2:00 pm: San Francisco announces new test site for frontline workers

An aerial drone view of an empty Powell Street Cable Car turnaround on March 30, 2020 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the opening of a new coronavirus testing facility called CityTestSF that will prioritize first responders and health care workers.

The new test site opens Monday at Pier 30-32 in the city with the goal of conducting 200 COVID-19 tests by the end of the week.

"We're especially concerned with the health of our frontline workers, because they are an essential part of our City's response to this public health emergency," Breed said. "They are doing the workday in and day out to keep us safe and keep our city running." —Hannah Miller 

1:54 pm: Lawmakers push for vote by mail in response to coronavirus pandemic

States are postponing elections and lawmakers are trying to figure out ways to hold a presidential election in the middle of a pandemic.

A bill being considered in Congress would require states to implement absentee voting during emergencies for any reason, including for the coronavirus pandemic.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last Tuesday the country needs to move toward a "vote by mail" system to give citizens a safe way to cast their ballots while the coronavirus makes it dangerous to congregate.

"That's why we wanted to have more resources in this third bill that just was signed by the president, to get those resources to the states to facilitate the reality of life: that we are going to have to have more vote by mail," Pelosi told MSNBC. —Jose Sepulveda, Lindsey Jacobsen

1:45 pm: Cooperstown, New York among the many tourism-dependent small towns bracing for a hard year

In this Feb. 1, 2019, file photo, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum stands in Cooperstown, N.Y. On Saturday, March 14, 2020, the hall said it will close to the public beginning Sunday at 5 p.m. due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Hans Pennink | AP

Heading northwest out of New York City will take you — as the sights of high-rise apartments and strip malls give way to forests and dairy farms — to Cooperstown, New York, home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

It is here, in a village of 1,700 year-round residents, where hundreds of thousands flock each summer to honor the heroes of their childhood in a place known far and wide as baseball's Mecca.

But the spread of the coronavirus across the country, and especially in New York, threatens to derail the Hall of Fame's Induction Weekend, one of the town's biggest annual moneymakers. The disease has already forced the Cooperstown Dreams Park, home to one of the country's largest little league tournaments, to cancel its 2020 season in an already hefty blow to the town's revenues.

Tourist-driven destinations from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, are all likely to feel the impact of the virus and government efforts to contain its spread throughout the peak summer season. —Thomas Franck

1:37 pm: Europe moves closer to using crisis fund to help countries hit by the coronavirus pandemic

There is growing optimism that euro zone finance ministers will approve new funding to the countries wrestling with the coronavirus pandemic, but division over so-called "corona bonds" is likely to remain.

European economies are at a standstill after many governments implemented national lockdowns to reduce the number of infections from COVID-19, the virus that emerged in China in late 2019. People have been stuck at home for almost a month, meaning all non-essential businesses have closed their doors across most European nations.

The economic and political pressure has resurfaced old divisions among European nations. However, three Brussels-based officials, who didn't want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, told CNBC that member states are now moving toward an agreement.

"We are almost there," an EU official from one of the largest EU economies, told CNBC over the phone. —Silvia Amaro

1:30 pm: WHO says coronavirus vaccine and treatment research has 'accelerated at incredible speed'

Research to develop vaccines and treatments to fight the coronavirus has "accelerated at incredible speed," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

"The viral genome was mapped in early January and shared globally which enabled tests to be developed and vaccine research to start," he said at a press conference from the organization's Geneva headquarters. He said more than 70 countries have joined WHO's trial to accelerate research on effective treatments and "about 20 institutions and companies are racing to develop a vaccine."

Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO's executive director for emergencies program, said one trial underway will look at prophylaxis in health care workers to see if there's evidence of giving lower doses of drugs like hydroxychloroquine would reduce their risk of becoming infected in a health care environment. —Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

1:21 pm: Cuomo doubles max fine for breaking social distancing rules to $1,000 as NY cases rise

People flock to Hudson River Park despite government orders to socially distance and stay at home in New York City amid Coronavirus pandemic on April 5, 2020.
John Nacion | NurPhoto | Getty Images

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he is doubling to $1,000 the maximum fine for violating the strict social distancing rules meant to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The reason: Too many New Yorkers aren't taking the rules seriously, he said.

"It's not about your life," Cuomo said at a press conference in Albany. "You don't have the right to risk someone else's life."

"You don't have the right, frankly, to take health-care staff and people who are literally putting their lives on the line and be cavalier or reckless with them. You just don't have the right," Cuomo said. —Kevin Breuninger, Will Feuer

1:14 pm: CDC says three kids have died from suspected coronavirus in US as some children get severely sick

Woman with children wearing protective masks as a preventive measure against the coronavirus COVID-19 on street in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 31, 2020.
Maxym Marusenko | NurPhoto via Getty Images

Some children have been hospitalized or worse after becoming infected with the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. At least three children have died.

In its first major report looking at the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on children, the CDC analyzed confirmed cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories that occurred between Feb.12 and April 2. U.S health officials examined 149,760 cases where age was known and found that 2,572 of the cases, or 1.7%, were younger than 18. 

At least 73% of the pediatric patients had symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath, according to the CDC's findings. About 5.7% of the children, or 20% of those for whom hospitalization status was known, were hospitalized, the agency said. —Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

1:09 pm: Lady Gaga announces benefit concert on WHO call, Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney, Elton John and more to perform

Entertainers from around the world will come together for a global televised special in support of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Lady Gaga said during a World Health Organization call.

The singer said the special would take place April 18 and proceeds would go toward funding protective equipment for health-care professionals.

"We are all so very grateful to all of the health-care professionals across the country and the world who are on the front lines during COVID-19," she said on the call.

The event will be hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert and feature characters from "Sesame Street" as well as a number of musical guests. —Sarah Whitten

12:55 pm: Wayfair shares surge 37% as coronavirus drives sales of office furniture and home decor

Wayfair shares surged more than 37% after the online furniture company said its business is booming, as people furnish their home offices or decorate while they are shut-in during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wayfair said in a press release that when it entered March, gross revenue growth was just under 20%, similar to trends during January and February. But by the end of the month, growth more than doubled. Wayfair said the trend has persisted into April.

Much of the country has shifted to working from home, or remote learning, as offices and schools close to try to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Some consumers have needed to spruce up their home offices — and have been looking online for a more comfortable chair or a standing desk. With most bricks-and-mortar stores temporarily shuttered, Wayfair has benefited from fulfilling these needs. —Lauren Thomas

12:43 pm: Dow rallies 1,200 points as US coronavirus case growth rate appears to slow down

Stocks jumped, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous week, as the number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. appeared to slow down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 1,200 points higher, or more than 5%. The S&P 500 gained 5.5% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 5.4%. —Fred Imbert, Silvia Amaro

12:36 pm: NY Gov. Cuomo will ask Trump to allow coronavirus patients on Navy ship Comfort

The USNS Comfort passes the Statue of Liberty as it enters New York Harbor during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, U.S., March 30, 2020.
Brendan McDermids | Reuters

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that he will ask President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort to be used to treat patients with the coronavirus, to relieve pressure on New York City's hospital system.

The Comfort, a 1,000-bed hospital ship, currently is docked on the West Side of Manhattan.

The ship is now being used to treat a handful of patients without COVID-19. The original plan for the ship was to not treat coronavirus patients.

"I'm going to call the president this afternoon and ask him to shift the Comfort from non-COVID to COVID," Cuomo said at a press conference. —Dan Mangan, Will Feuer

12:29 pm: WHO says the virus can spread one to three days before symptoms start

World Health Organization officials said the coronavirus can spread in asymptomatic patients, about one to three days before symptoms start.

"It's very important to note that even if you are pre-symptomatic, you still have to transmit through droplets. You still have to have these infectious particles that come out of your nose and mouth," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's team lead on the coronavirus, said at a press conference from the organization's Geneva headquarters.

She said models of the outbreak suggest that there are "large numbers of unrecognized transmission." She emphasized those are unrecognized patients, not asymptomatic. —Noah Higgins-Dunn

12:19 pm: Italy reports the lowest daily increase of new cases in three weeks

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 636, more than 100 higher than the previous daily tally of 525, the Civil Protection Agency said, but the number of new cases fell sharply.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 came to 16,523, the highest in the world.

The total number of confirmed cases increased by 3,599 to 132,547, the lowest daily rise since March 17, underscoring hopes that the illness might be on the retreat thanks to a nationwide lockdown introduced on March 9.

Before Monday, daily increases since March 17 had all been in a range of 4,050-6,557. —Reuters

12:03 pm: New York City may have to bury coronavirus victims on public lands as deaths overwhelm mortuaries

Bodies are moved to a refrigeration truck serving as a temporary morgue at Wyckoff Hospital in the Borough of Brooklyn on April 6, 2020 in New York.
Bryan R. Smith | AFP | Getty Images

New York City is preparing to bury dead COVID-19 patients in temporary plots on public land until the city's morgues and cemeteries can catch up to the rapidly rising coronavirus death toll, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

"If we need to do temporary burials to be able to tide this over to pass the crisis and then work with each family on their appropriate arrangements, we have the ability to do that," de Blasio said at a news briefing from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. "Obviously, the place we have used historically is Hart Island."

Hart Island is located in the northeast Bronx of New York City. More than 1 million people are buried on the island, according to the city's website. The city says it is New York City's public cemetery and the Department of Correction has managed burials on the island for the past 150 years. Many of those buried on the island remain anonymous with unmarked graves. —Will Feuer, Noah Higgins-Dunn

11:57 am: Coronavirus crisis 'not an excuse'—real estate CEO says those who can should pay their rent

The coronavirus pandemic should not be used as a reason for everybody to stop paying rent, the CEO of one of the nation's largest real estate developers told CNBC. 

"It's a whole ecosystem. The people that can pay need to pay," Related Companies'Jeff Blau said in a "Squawk Box" interview. "Landlords need to help out those that can't, and then the banks need to help out those landlords that are hurt by people that couldn't pay the rent."

"That's how this whole thing, I think, has to get resolved," added Blau.

Blau's firm has a portfolio value of more than $60 billion and is behind projects such as New York's Hudson Yards. It also owns the largest private portfolio of affordable housing in the U.S., with properties in 24 states. 

Blau said Related Companies' has collected about 88% of its residential rents that were due April 1. About 95% of commercial rents were paid, but only 26% of retail tenants have done so, he said. —Kevin Stankiewicz

11:47 am: Coronavirus mortgage bailout: 'There is going to be complete chaos,' says industry CEO

Mortgage industry on the brink of collapse
VIDEO4:2004:20
Mortgage industry on the brink of collapse

A broad coalition of mortgage and finance industry leaders on Saturday sent a plea to federal regulators, asking for desperately needed cash to keep the mortgage system running, as requests from borrowers for the federal mortgage forbearance program are pouring in at an alarming rate.

The Cares Act mandates that all borrowers with government-backed mortgages—about 62% of all first lien mortgages according to Urban Institute—be allowed to delay at least 90 days of monthly payments and possibly up to a year's worth.

Those payments would then have to be made at a later time through a payment plan. Servicers are granting the payment deferrals to borrowers with no questions asked, as is required by the law, but the servicers still have to pay mortgage bond holders.

In normal times, they have enough to cover these payments, and, in fact, at the end of last year the mortgage delinquency rate was near a record low, according to CoreLogic. Now that rate is skyrocketing, and servicers do not have nearly enough cash to cover those payments to bondholders. —Diana Olick

11:34 am: British PM Boris Johnson 'in good spirits' after being admitted to hospital for coronavirus tests

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is "in good spirits," a day after he was admitted to hospital for coronavirus tests.

Johnson, 55, tested positive for COVID-19 just over a week ago, claiming he had developed "mild symptoms" including a high temperature and cough.

"Last night, on the advice of my doctor, I went into hospital for some routine tests as I'm still experiencing coronavirus symptoms," the U.K. leader tweeted Monday. "I'm in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe." —Ryan Browne

11:26 am: Janet Yellen says second-quarter GDP could decline by 30% and unemployment is already at 12%-13%

Janet Yellen: Q2 GDP likely to be down at least 30%
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Janet Yellen: Q2 GDP likely to be down at least 30%

Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the economy is in the throes of an "absolutely shocking" downturn that is not reflected yet in the current data.

If it was, she said, the unemployment rate probably would be as high as 13% while the overall economic contraction is about 30%.

"If we had a timely unemployment statistic, the unemployment rate probably would be up to 12 or 13% at this point and moving higher," Yellen told CNBC's Sara Eisen during a "Squawk on the Street" interview. She said gross domestic product is down "at least 30% and I've seen far higher numbers."

Those numbers, she said, look like a depression though they were "in very different form" from the Great Depression. —Jeff Cox

11:15 am: Marco Rubio expects the Senate to pass at least one more coronavirus relief bill 

Senators acknowledge they will have to pass another emergency bill to limit the damage from the coronavirus pandemic, Sen. Marco Rubio said. 

The Florida Republican, chairman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, said Congress will likely have to expand pieces of the $2 trillion stimulus package passed last month. Rubio expects an additional recovery bill after lawmakers assess the wreckage the outbreak leaves in its wake. 

"The appetite is there," he said in a CNBC "Squawk Box" interview. "I think everyone I've talked to recognizes we're going to have to go back and do more, and probably more than once." 

The government has only started the rapid, at times rocky implementation of the largest emergency spending package in U.S. history. Designed to bolster resources for an overburdened health care system and blunt economic destruction as COVID-19 spreads, the law includes strengthened unemployment benefits, $350 billion in small business loans and $500 billion in loans and grants for companies, states and municipalities, among other measures. —Jacob Pramuk 

11:06 am: Priest tells Christians to practice social distancing as Easter approaches: 'One of the most generous things you can do' 

A prominent Catholic priest called on the faithful to practice social distancing this week, the peak of Lent, in contrast to some other religious leaders who have called for churches to remain open as Easter approaches and the coronavirus spreads.

"One of the ways of being kind, in addition to doing good things for your neighbors, is to practice social distancing and stay home and not give other people the disease," Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author, told CNBC on Monday morning. 

Not all religious leaders are offering the same advice as Martin. While many churches have opted to perform their services virtually, some have continued to hold gatherings despite warnings from the federal government and state leaders to avoid contact with other people. —Kevin Breuninger 

10:57 am: New York City will have enough N95 masks for the week but still faces other coronavirus shortages, de Blasio says 

New York City is receiving 600,000 N95 masks Monday, on top of the 200,000 the federal government sent Friday, giving the city's hospitals enough masks this week, even as local leaders scramble to fill gaps in other necessary supplies to fight the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

The city has received 291 new health-care workers from the federal government out of the 1,450 requested, de Blasio said. The city is still facing shortages of hospital gowns and ventilators. He said NYC hospitals used 1.8 million hospital gowns last week and will use about 2 million this week. 

"This is one of the areas where we're seeing a real problem, surgical gowns. Our public hospital system has enough for this week, but some of the private hospitals and nursing homes are running low, and this is an area we're very concerned about," de Blasio said, standing outside the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Dr. Eric Wei, the chief quality officer for the city's public health system NYC Health + Hospitals, said they are testing hydroxychloroquine and other treatments to see what works best to save patients.

"We're willing to try just about anything to save patients," he said. He also said the city is trying to broaden its testing for COVID-19 to make it more available to city health-care workers. —Noah Higgins-Dunn, William Feuer 

10:40 am: Rite Aid to hire 5,000 new employees 

Rite Aid announced that it plans to hire 5,000 new employees for full- and part-time roles at stores across the country. The positions include cashiers, pharmacy technicians and distribution center associates.

The company previously established a "Hero Program" that raised the wages of hourly employees by $2 per hour starting Mar. 15. The pay raise is expected to last at least through May 2. Current retail store management, including pharmacists, distribution center management and RediClinic professional associates, also received a "Hero Bonus" of $1,000. —Hannah Miller 

10:36 am: Navarro says he is qualified to disagree with Fauci on coronavirus treatment: 'I'm a social scientist' 

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said he is qualified to disagree with Dr. Anthony Fauci on coronavirus research because "I'm a social scientist."

"Doctors disagree about things all of the time. My qualifications in terms of looking at the science is that I'm a social scientist, PhD," Navarro told CNN's John Berman during a televised interview. "I understand how to read statistical studies, whether it's in medicine, the law, economics or whatever."

Navarro is the White House director of trade and manufacturing policy, and Fauci has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. Navarro earned an economics PhD from Harvard, according to the White House. 

The two officials reportedly tangled over White House messaging on hydroxychloroquine, a lupus and rheumatoid arthritis drug being studied for possible COVID-19 usage, during a meeting in the Situation Room on Saturday. 

Fauci said that research on the drug's effectiveness against the new coronavirus was anecdotal, while Navarro countered it was "science, not anecdote," according to the news website Axios, which first reported on the blow up. —Tucker Higgins 

9:58 am: Coronavirus-themed murals from around the world 

A man runs in front of a graffiti of a character from "Lord Of The Rings", which holds a roll of toilet paper and says "My precious", during coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak in the Mauerpark in Berlin, Germany on March 25, 2020.
Abdulhamid Hosbas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Artists around the world are tapping their creativity to help find new ways to deal with the impact of the global pandemic.

Musicians who had to cancel their concert tours are instead moving online to connect with their audiences, offering impromptu performances on social media and live video streams. Some are even writing new coronavirus- and quarantine-inspired songs to help us wash our hands.

A few writers are taking advantage of their newfound time at home to finish their novels. And then there are the graffiti and mural artists who have been busy painting some pretty incredible coronavirus-inspired works on walls and buildings across the globe. —Adam Jeffery

9:50 am: Chief surgeon at top New York hospital likens the upcoming week in coronavirus fight to war: This is 'our Fallujah' 

The head of surgery at one of New York's top hospitals likened the coming weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak to war, saying doctors were about to fight "our Gettysburg, our Somme, our Iwo Jima, our Khe Sanh, our Fallujah."

New York–Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center in Manhattan is at the frontlines of the coronavirus epidemic in New York City. Surgeon-in-chief Dr. Craig Smith's rousing memos to staff have been shared widely as an onslaught of COVID-19 patients pour into the hospital.

Officials and epidemiologists tracking the spread of the virus warn that this week could be among the most deadly yet in New York City. The virus has infected more than 67,551 people in the city and killed at least 3,048 people, according to Johns Hopkins University. —William Feuer

9:33 am: Stocks surge to start the week, Dow rallies 900 points 

Stocks jumped on Monday as Wall Street rebounded from a steep sell-off in the previous week. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 900 points higher, or more than 4%. The S&P 500 gained 3.8% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.7%.

Last week, the major averages posted their third weekly decline in four. The Dow slid 2.7% while the S&P 500 lost 2.1%. The Nasdaq Composite closed last week down 1.7%. Stocks are also deep in bear-market territory as concerns over the coronavirus outbreak have virtually shut down the global economy and have dampened sentiment around corporate profits. —Fred Imbert, Silvia Amaro

9:26 am: A loss of taste and smell may be the best way to tell if you have coronavirus, new study shows 

If tests are not available, a loss of taste and smell could be the best way to detect whether someone has contracted the coronavirus, according to U.K. researchers.

A research team at King's College London assessed the responses of more than 400,000 people reporting one or more suspected symptoms of COVID-19 to an app.

The data analyzed showed that 59% of those who tested positive for the virus reported a loss of smell and taste, compared with only 18% of who tested negative for the disease. These results, the researchers said, were "much stronger" in predicting positive COVID-19 diagnoses than a self-reported fever.

This appears to indicate that a loss of smell and taste should be added to the list of common coronavirus symptoms. Until now, health authorities like the WHO have said a fever, dry cough and fatigue are the symptoms to watch out for.

The general advice for those who display symptoms of COVID-19 is to stay at home in order to reduce the risk of spreading it to others and call your health facility. —Sam Meredith

9:19 am: Tyson Foods deploys walk-through temperature scanners at three U.S. sites 

Tyson Foods is using walk-through infrared body temperature scanners at three processing plants in an effort to keep coronavirus out of its sites and maintain the stability of U.S. food supply.

The scanners can check employees' temperature as they walk into the building. Tyson gave CNBC an exclusive first look at video of how the walk-through scanners work. 

"One beef facility in Nebraska produces enough food every day to feed 18 million people. We have a vital role to continue to feed the nation. We are doing everything we can to keep employees safe," Tyson's senior vice president of health and safety Tom Brower told CNBC. —Frank Holland

9:08 am:  Bank of America sees booming rescue loan demand, with applications for nearly 10% of allotment 

Bank of America said it's seen fierce demand for emergency rescue loans with current applications already accounting for nearly 10% of the entire amount allocated by Congress.

The bank confirmed that it has received applications from 177,000 small businesses for a total of $32.6 billion in financing. The current Bank of America numbers are its applications and do not represent the sums the Small Business Administration has approved.

The bank was the first major lender to set up and launch its portal for the Paycheck Protection Program though it was quickly inundated with requests.

The chaotic and widespread demand stems from the nation's small business owners, who have scrambled to apply for the rescue funds out of fear they could miss out on the historic, $350 billion program. —Thomas Franck

8:12 am: CVS launches drive-thru rapid testing in Rhode Island and Georgia

CVS Health said Monday it will be running two new drive-thru coronavirus testing locations and hopes to perform up to 1,000 tests a day.

The sites are at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and at Twin River Casino near Providence, Rhode Island. They will use Abbott Laboratories' rapid COVID-19 test and make testing available to patients who meet the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state governments. Both sites have large parking lots that can accommodate multiple lanes of cars.

The new sites will be open to all patients, but in order to receive an appointment for a test, customers will be required to preregister and prequalify online. No one will be admitted without  preregistering. —Bertha Coombs

7:47 am: Japan's Abe unveils 'massive' coronavirus stimulus worth 20% of GDP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged on Monday to roll out an unprecedented economic stimulus package, equal to 20% of economic output, as his government vowed to take "all steps" to battle deepening fallout from the coronavirus, Reuters reported.

The package, to be confirmed by the cabinet on Tuesday, will total 108 trillion yen ($989 billion), far exceeding one compiled in the wake of the 2009 financial crisis totaling 56 trillion yen in size, with fiscal spending of 15 trillion yen. —Reuters

7:24 am: China vows to strengthen controls at land borders as cases rise

China will work to further avoid importing coronavirus cases through its land borders, the Chinese government said in a statement after a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

The risk of the virus being imported into China via land borders is increasing and the number of such cases has exceeded those recorded at airports recently, the statement said. Of the 38 imported cases with symptoms recorded in mainland China on Sunday, 20 had arrived in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang after travelling overland from Vladivostok in neighboring Russia, having flown to Vladivostok from Moscow. —Reuters

7:11 am: Germany draws up plans to end lockdown

A man and a woman wearing face masks walk past advertisements of a shoe store temporarily selling face masks and antibacterial hygiene products in Berlin on March 16, 2020.
Tobias Schwarz | AFP | Getty Images

Germany has drawn up a list of measures, including an obligation to wear masks in public, limits on public gatherings and the rapid tracing of infection chains, that officials think should allow life to return to normal after lockdown's scheduled end on April 19.

The proposals, contained in a draft action plan compiled by the Interior Ministry document and seen by Reuters, say the measures should be sufficient to keep the number of people infected by each person below 1 even as public life is allowed gradually to resume.

For this to be possible, mechanisms will have to be in place to track more than 80% of people an infected person had contact with within 24 hours of diagnosis. In return, schools will be able to reopen on a regional basis and strict border controls will be relaxed, the paper said. —Reuters

7:06 am: Apple to produce 1 million face shields per week

Apple is designing and producing face shields for medical workers, CEO Tim Cook said in a video on Sunday. The company is aiming to produce 1 million face shields per week.

"We've launched a company-wide effort, bringing together product designers, engineering, operations and packaging teams, and our suppliers to design, produce, and ship face shields for health workers," Cook said. —Kif Leswing

7:03 am: JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon says US can emerge from crisis stronger

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon discusses coronavirus response in annual letter
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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon discusses coronavirus response in annual letter

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, detailed the bank's strength in his widely-read annual letter. He said that JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, is prepared for the tumult caused by the coronavirus epidemic.

"We have the resources to emerge from this crisis as a stronger country," Dimon said in the letter. "America is still the most prosperous nation the world has ever seen."JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, is prepared for the tumult caused by the coronavirus epidemic, he said. 

Here's the full letter. —Hugh Son

5:55 am: Spain's daily death toll continues to decline

Spain reported that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country had topped 135,302, up from 130,759 the previous day.

It reported 637 deaths Monday, down from 674 the previous day, and continuing a downwards trend after a peak of 950 recorded on Thursday. A total of 13,055 people have died in Spain from the virus. —Holly Ellyatt

5:15 am: Europe looks for lockdown exit strategy as rate of new coronavirus cases and deaths slows

There are tentative hopes in Europe that the coronavirus outbreak could be slowing, as the number of new infections and fatalities starts to slow down, according to data over the weekend.

The figures are prompting European leaders to look for an exit strategy to national lockdowns, while urging the public to maintain discipline while the apparent recovery from the outbreak is in its infancy. —Holly Ellyatt

4:45 am: UK car sales fell 44% in March, industry data shows

U.K. passenger car sales in March fell 44% compared with the same month last year to 254,684 units, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said on Monday. 

The group, representing Britain's car industry, cut its 2020 sales forecast by 23% to 1.73 million vehicles because of the impact of the coronavirus crisis. That's 25% lower than the 2.31 million units registered in 2019. A further outlook will be published in April to reflect the latest conditions. —Holly Ellyatt

4:33 am: UK leader Boris Johnson 'doing well' in hospital, minister insists

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a coronavirus news conference inside number 10 Downing Street on March 19, 2020 in London, England.
Leon Neal - WPA Pool | Getty Images

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "doing well" and is expected to be back at his office shortly, Housing Minister Robert Jenrick told the BBC. It comes after Johnson was admitted to the hospital on Sunday night for tests, 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus.

"He'll stay in hospital as long as he needs to do that, but I've heard that he's doing well and I very much look forward to him being back in Number 10 as soon as possible," Jenrick told BBC radio. —Holly Ellyatt

Read CNBC's coverage from CNBC's Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Spain's daily death rate declines further; US virus hotspots in focus