At the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York, a sign is displayed requiring customers to wear masks when entering the store.
Photo by Al Bello / Getty Images
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Here’s what you need to know about the impact of Covid-19 to navigate the markets today.
• Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is the first governor to test positive for the coronavirus. Stitt has been a fervent advocate of reopening even as cases increased in his state. Currently, there are 22,813 cases in the state, compared to 14,000 two weeks ago, and 432 Oklahomans have died. Stitt says he feels “a little sore” and is quarantined at home away from his family, adding: “I want to use my story to remind Oklahomans that if you don’t feel well, we want you to be tested.” . Unlike other states where cases are on the rise, like California and Texas, Oklahoma doesn’t have statewide mask requirements.
• Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, will require all shoppers to wear masksthe company said in a statement Wednesday. The requirement will include the company’s Sam’s Club stores and will take effect next week. “We know this is a simple step that everyone can take for their safety and the safety of others at our facilities,” said Walmart COO Dacona Smith and Sam’s Club COO Lance de la Rosa at a press release. Mask orders are already in place in numerous states and cities across the country, and the company said about 65% of its stores are already covered by local regulations that require facial coatings. Walmart (ticker: WMT) is the last major retailer to announce a mask requirement in its stores. Best Buy (ABB) said Tuesday that customers at its nearly 1,000 stores in the United States will be required to wear masks. The company said it would provide face covers to buyers who don’t have one. “Any customer who has concerns about wearing a mask will be able to purchase Best Buy through our website and our app and choose either home delivery or contactless pickup on the sidewalk, which remains at all of our stores,” said the company in a statement. Best Buy’s decision is the last by a major retailer to require skins, and companies like Costco (COST) and Starbucks (SBUX) set similar policies.
• Alabama, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Utah set a record for daily coronavirus deaths on Tuesday., according to data tracked by the Washington Post. The grim data comes several weeks after cases across the Sun Belt began to explode, which medical experts say was likely due to a delay of a month or more between the time a patient is diagnosed with Covid-19. and when a part of those infected succumb to the disease. Sunbelt increase is still far less deadly than the outbreak in New York and the Northeast, likely due to infection by more younger people and the emergence of more effective treatment protocols, but deaths are increasing significantly and are likely to continue to do so.
• Nevada and Oklahoma are seeing new outbreaks of coronavirus, with both states setting records for the number of new cases on Tuesday. Nevada reported more than 1,100 new cases, while Oklahoma reported just over 990 new diagnoses.
• The Trump administration has ordered hospitals to send Covid-19 data to the Department of Health and Human Services, instead of being sent first to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Stripping the national disease prevention authority of its responsibility to collect coronavirus data and centralize it within the Trump administration threatens to politicize important information and reduce transparency, health experts told the New York Times.
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Write to Ben Walsh at [email protected]
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