The ongoing spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) is impacting people across the globe, disrupting industries, prohibiting air travel, canceling events and sending thousands to the hospital. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged another 1,464 points as the World Health Organization declared the virus a global pandemic.
Leading derivatives exchange CME Group will close its trading floor at the end of business on Friday, March 13th to stop people from gathering and potentially spreading the virus. The exchange says products will continue trading on CME Globex.
CME, which launched the first BTC futures in the United States in December of 2017, is one of the few exchanges to offer Bitcoin derivatives. According to a company statement,
“No coronavirus cases have been reported on the trading floor or in the Chicago Board of Trade building. The reopening of the trading floor will be evaluated as more medical guidance on the coronavirus becomes available.”
Meanwhile, the NBA has suspended its season after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for Covid-19. They state that they will use the hiatus to determine a course of action.
Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks and film producer Rita Wilson recently tested positive for the virus. Hanks says he and his wife are undergoing care in Australia where they were preparing for Baz Luhrmann’s untitled production about Elvis Presley. They’ll remain in isolation, following strict protocols mandated by local health officials.
The week marks another string of canceled and postponed events, including the Coachella music festival and the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2020 (E3 2020), as well as a moratorium on in-person classes at Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Columbia.
CNBC reports that Amazon is working on delivering coronavirus test kits to customers’ home, limiting exposure in waiting rooms at medical facilities and overwhelmed hospitals.
U.S. President Donald Trump says all travel from Europe to the US will be suspended for 30 days effective Friday at midnight, excluding travelers from the UK.
The coronavirus has infected over 126,000 people across the globe, killing 4,637, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of unreported cases, particularly among the homeless, is unknown.
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