Stocks fell from the opening of trading in New York, including a 3.7% loss for the S&P 500. The losses deepened as the day progressed, and the Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 1,000 points in the early afternoon.
The Indiana State Department of Health on Wednesday said the number of presumptive positive cases for COVID-19 has risen to 10 in the state after the emergence of four more cases.
Around Indiana, hospital officials say they have stepped up safety precautions in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. But even amid extensive preparation, some acknowledge that if the disease spreads quickly, it could test their facilities.
Alarming clusters of the coronavirus grew on both coasts of the United States on Tuesday, with more than 70 cases now tied to a biotech conference in Boston and infections turning up at 10 nursing homes in the hard-hit Seattle area.
The Indianapolis-based NCAA faced mounting pressure over how it will conduct its marquee event Tuesday, the same day the Ivy League canceled its conference basketball tournaments and two other Division I conferences announced that their tournaments would be played without spectators.
No staff members or lawyers at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath had tested positive for COVID-19, but a person who attended a firm event in Faegre Drinker’s Washington office had tested positive. Employees are now working remotely.
The decisions were made to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the potentially deadly respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. Neither school currently has a coronavirus case on campus.
Wall Street endured another day of dizzying trading Tuesday, whipping up and down with hopes that the U.S. and other governments will cushion the economy from the pain of the coronavirus.
Markets received a bump around midday Tuesday after Vice President Mike Pence said the nation’s big health insurers would cover co-pays for coronavirus testing.
Delta, the world’s biggest airline, said it will cut international flights by 20% to 25% and reduce U.S. flying by 10% to 15%, roughly matching cuts previously announced by United Airlines.
The Indiana State Department of Health on Tuesday said it had so far tested 36 Hoosiers for the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19.
The president also said he was seeking to provide assistance to the airline, hotel and cruise industries, which are all suffering as Americans rapidly cancel travel plans.
More than 380 schools have closed their doors because of the outbreak, moves that have affected nearly 260,000 students, according to a count by the education publication EdWeek.
The Dow Jones industrial average on Monday suffered its steepest drop since the financial crisis of 2008.
The steep drop followed similar falls in Europe after a fight among major crude-producing countries jolted investors already on edge about the widening fallout from the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
This is the third reported positive test for COVID-19 in Indiana, and the second in Hendricks County.
The world’s largest economies delivered more worrisome cues Monday as anxiety over the virus outbreak sent stock and oil prices plunging and closed sites from the Sistine Chapel to Saudi Arabian schools.
Indianapolis-based Lilly, the 12th largest employer in Indiana with 10,600 workers in the state, said it didn’t have a specific timeline for how long the precaution would last.
Oil prices are plunging amid worries that an OPEC dispute will lead an economy weakened by COVID-19 to be awash in an oversupply of crude.
Since breaking out of China, the coronavirus has had a chilling effect on companies related to manufacturing, travel and tourism, which then hampers other industries and weakens consumer confidence.
