The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 700 points in its worst day since June 11 as the coronavirus continues to surge in states around the country, mostly in the South and West.
Florida and California, two of the largest economies in the U.S, reported a record number of new cases. There’s growing concern that the state governments in Tallahassee and Sacramento could be forced to implement stay-at-home orders and close nonessential businesses again if the outbreak isn’t brought under control.
The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are imposing a 14-day quarantine on travelers from coronavirus hotspots like Florida to prevent another outbreak in the northeastern region. The three neighboring states were once the epicenter of the epidemic in the U.S., but have since managed to contain the virus.
This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.
- Global cases: More than 9.3 million
- Global deaths: At least 479,215
- U.S. cases: More than 2.36 million
- U.S. deaths: At least 121,662
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Trump won’t follow New Jersey quarantine order
5:45 p.m. ET — President Donald Trump will not follow New Jersey’s 14-day quarantine order when he travels to his golf club in Bedminster this weekend, according to the White House.
Trump was in Arizona Tuesday, where coronavirus cases are spiking. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced they would impose a quarantine on travelers from eight states with high infection rates. Arizona is one of those states. “The president of the United States is not a civilian,” said White House spokesman Judd Deere, when asked about Trump’s compliance with the quarantine order given his travel Tuesday to Arizona, which has seen a rise in the rate of its Covid-19 cases.
“Anyone who is in close proximity to him, including staff, guests, and press are tested for COVID-19 and confirmed to be negative,” Deere said in a statement. —Spencer Kimball, Dan Mangan
These retailers have the most stores in states where coronavirus cases are spiking
5:20 p.m. ET — Instinet analyzed a dozen states that as of last Friday had reported record highs in new Covid-19 cases: Florida, Texas, Utah, South Carolina, Nevada, Georgia, Missouri, Montana, Arizona, California, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
It found the retailers with the greatest exposure to these 12 states to be the off-price chain Ross Stores, Costco and O’Reilly Auto Parts, CNBC’s Lauren Thomas reported.
Another round of closures would hurt the so-called discretionary or apparel retailers more than stores deemed essential during the pandemic, such as Walmart and Target, according to Instinet analyst Michael Baker in a client note on Wednesday.
Companies may follow Apple’s example of shutting down stores again in Covid-19 hotspots such as Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Arizona without a government mandate. —Lauren…
Read More: NY activates quarantine for travelers from hotspots
