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Millions Holed up at Home as US Routines Shift Profoundly

Associated Press

   CHICAGO - Millions of Americans began their work week holed up at home
   Monday against the coronavirus outside their doors, as the escalating
   outbreak shifted the nation's daily routines in ways never before seen
   in U.S. history.

   As wide swaths of the economy began shuddering to a halt, the financial
   markets opened with stocks dropping on Wall Street by nearly 10
   percent, triggering an automatic 15-minute halt to trading. That came
   despite emergency Federal Reserve action late Sunday that cut the key
   interest rate to near zero.

   The best-case scenario for many investors now is that the economic
   shock will be steep but short, with growth recovering later this year
   as stores and businesses open back up. Pessimists, though, are
   preparing for a longer haul.

   The U.S. surgeon general, meanwhile, said the number of coronavirus
   cases in the United States has reached the level that disease-battered
   Italy recorded two weeks ago -- a signal that infections are expected
   to rise in America.

   "We are at a critical inflection point in this country, people," U.S.
   Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told Fox News. "When you look at the
   projections, there's every chance that we could be Italy."

   Two weeks ago, there were 1,700 cases of coronavirus in Italy and the
   country had reported 34 deaths. Now, Italy is reporting an estimated
   25,000 cases and more than 1,800 people have died.

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