WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

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1/ The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, saying “We are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction.” The declaration came as the number of known cases surpassed 120,000 worldwide with at least 4,369 deaths, and has spread to more than 100 countries. (Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times)

• MORE:

• Trump will address the nation at 9 p.m. ET. Trump said he would be making “both” health and economic related announcements from the Oval Office. (NBC News)

• The Dow entered a bear market, closing down 20.3% from its record high and ending an 11-year bull market. All three indexes are in negative territory for the year and the S&P 500 is down 19% from its Feb. 19 peak. (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC / MarketWatch / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post)

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other senators plan to ask Trump to issue an emergency declaration for the coronavirus pandemic, which would allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to use more than $40 billion from the Disaster Relief Fund to assist local state government in their response to the coronavirus. (CNN)

• House Democrats plan to vote Thursday on a coronavirus relief package that will include expanded unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, and food security assistance in order to contain economic concerns. The Senate, however, is unlikely to act before next week’s scheduled congressional recess. (Politico / Washington Post)

• The CDC Director said U.S. labs don’t have an adequate stock of the supplies needed for coronavirus testing. Robert Redfield said there’s a growing scarcity of “RNA extraction” kits, which are needed to prepare samples for testing. (Politico)

• Two Trump allies received coronavirus testing despite showing no symptoms of respiratory illness. The CDC recommended that health care providers p...

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