Stocks rise on Wall Street, but US braces for 100,000 deaths
Sunbathers enjoy the sunset at the entrance to Marseille’s Old Port in southern France, Tuesday, May 26, 2020 as France gradually lifts its COVID-19 lockdown. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Healthcare workers depart after checking the body temperatures of deported Haitians arriving from the United States, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. ( AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
Passengers sit next to empty seats, marked with an X to create distance between commuters as a precaution amid the new coronavirus pandemic in a minivan that serves as public transportation in El Alto, Bolivia, Monday, May 25, 2020. The city is also limiting access to public transport based on residents’ license plate numbers and spaces inside, in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
School children wearing masks line up to get their hands sanitized and temperatures checked as they arrive to appear for state board examination during the coronavirus pandemic in Kochi, Kerala state, India, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/R S Iyer)
Ambulance workers take turns spraying each other with disinfectant after delivering a patient to the COVID-19 triage unit at Mexico General Hospital in Mexico City, Monday, May 25, 2020. Authorities have predicted that coronavirus cases in the city would peak in May, with reopening measures currently slated for mid-June. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
FILE - In this file photo dated Nov. 7, 2019, showing Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson alongside Douglas Ross, parliamentary under-secretary of state for Scotland, right in Moray, Scotland. Junior British government minister Douglas Ross has quit Tuesday May 26, 2020, over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s failure to fire his top aide Dominic Cummings for allegedly breaching COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown rules. (Stefan Rousseau / PA via AP)
Danish taxicompany Dantaxi installs safety measures in their vehicles, in Copenhagen, Tuesday May 26, 2020. The cars are fitted with information stickers, plexiglass segregating the driver from passenger and hand sanitising liquid to control the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, wearing a protective mask because of the coronavirus, speaks to Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu after a joint press conference in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
A woman is sunbathing on a beach chair by the sea in Norderney, Lower Saxony, Germany Tuesday May 26, 2020. Numbers of tourists are lower than normal because of the coronavirus. (Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa via AP)
Condensation fills the face shield of a police trainee during a simulation exercise for proper social distancing at the LRT-2 station on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 in Manila, Philippines. The exercise is held to prepare for the possible resumption of public transportation as the community lockdown to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus might be more relaxed next week. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Signs warn about social distancing in front of the Eisbach wave in the English Garden, on whose banks various surfers are standing with their boards. The artificial wave was closed for several weeks due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The wave is a popular hotspot for surfers and spectators all year round. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP)
A medical worker moves a patient from the COVID-19 triage unit at Mexico General Hospital, in Mexico City, Monday, May 25, 2020. Authorities have predicted that coronavirus cases in the city would peak in May, with reopening measures currently slated for mid-June. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A SOS Funeral worker wearing protection equipment amid the new coronavirus pandemic prepares to remove the body of Eldon Cascais in Manaus, Brazil, Saturday, May 9, 2020. According to relatives, Cascais had lung cancer and died at home after suffering from shortness of breath, cough and fatigue for a week. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Men gather at a fish market in Manaus, Brazil, May 22, 2020. Although health experts warn that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over in Manaus, or across the country, national polls show adherence to lockdowns and quarantines falling, and a growing percentage of Brazilians are neglecting local leaders’ safety recommendations. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An elderly COVID-19 patient is treated inside a non-invasive ventilation system named the Vanessa Capsule at a municipal field hospital Gilberto Novaes in Manaus, Brazil, Monday, May 18, 2020. The field hospital, set up inside a school, has nearly 150 beds and is operating near its limit as it treats patients both from the capital and remote Amazon areas. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Emergency workers transfer an elderly patient, suspected of having COVID-19, to a hospital in Manaus, Brazil, Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Per capita, Manaus is Brazil’s major city hardest hit by COVID-19. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A man wearing a protective face mask passes the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, as employees arrive for the partial reopening of the trading floor. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Customers leave Urban Outfitters with their purchases as they shop at Pacific City shopping mall on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Huntington Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A worker from Bidvest Prestige wearing protective gear, sprays disinfectant in a classroom to help reduce the spread the new coronavirus ahead of the reopening of Landulwazi Comprehensive School, east of Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, ahead of the June 1, 2020, re-opening of Grade 7 and 12 learners to school. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A funeral worker wearing protective gear as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus, sprays disinfectant on a coffin that contains the remains of person who died from the new coronavirus, at the San Jose hospital in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Yara Loureiro, right, speaks with her 90-year-old mother Lourdes Giannini through a glass window at the Premier Hospital, where her mother is a patient after suffering a stroke, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. The hospital does not have any cases of COVID-19, but has closed visits to patients to prevent contagion of the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Aman Patel wears a protective face mask as he works on the partially reopened trading floor, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Stocks surged on Wall Street in afternoon trading Tuesday, driving the S&P 500 to its highest level in nearly three months, as hopes for economic recovery overshadow worries about the coronavirus pandemic. (Colin Zimmer/New York Stock Exchange via AP)
Vin Norton, of Wellesley, Mass., left, gets his hair cut by barber Cristian Lopez, of Sherborn, Mass., at Barber Walter’s barbershop, as they both wear masks out of concern for the coronavirus, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Wellesley. Hair salons and barbershops were allowed to open Monday, May 25 in Massachusetts after being closed for about two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Indians wearing face masks as prevention against the coronavirus walk past a roadside bookshop in Bengaluru, India, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. For a seventh consecutive day India reported a record single-day jump in new virus cases. India has been easing its lockdown, with domestic flights resuming Monday at a fraction of normal. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Carabinieri officers patrol the city trendy Navigli district in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Two northern regions account for far more than half of Italy’s latest confirmed cases. According to Health Ministry figures, Lombardy, which was hardest hit by coronavirus infections and deaths in the nation’s outbreak, registered 159 new cases in the 24-hour period ending Tuesday evening, while neighboring Piedmont registered 86 cases. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
A worker directs traffic at a coronavirus testing site set up at Dodger Stadium Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Customers sit at a terrace bar of Mayor square in downtown Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Spain’s Foreign Minister says that European Union members should agree to a common approach to open borders, re-establish freedom of travel in the Schengen Area and define which countries outside it should be considered safe to travel from and to. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Joseph and Julia Salvaggio, vacationing from Long Island, N.Y., enjoy a glass of wine at the Wild Sea Oyster Bar and Grille at the Riverside Hotel during the new coronavirus pandemic, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The restaurant closed the bar and installed protective dividers between tables. Hotels, beaches and gyms reopened throughout Broward County Tuesday after being closed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Sunbathers enjoy the sunset at the entrance to Marseille’s Old Port in southern France, Tuesday, May 26, 2020 as France gradually lifts its COVID-19 lockdown. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Healthcare workers depart after checking the body temperatures of deported Haitians arriving from the United States, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. ( AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
Healthcare workers depart after checking the body temperatures of deported Haitians arriving from the United States, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. ( AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
Passengers sit next to empty seats, marked with an X to create distance between commuters as a precaution amid the new coronavirus pandemic in a minivan that serves as public transportation in El Alto, Bolivia, Monday, May 25, 2020. The city is also limiting access to public transport based on residents’ license plate numbers and spaces inside, in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Passengers sit next to empty seats, marked with an X to create distance between commuters as a precaution amid the new coronavirus pandemic in a minivan that serves as public transportation in El Alto, Bolivia, Monday, May 25, 2020. The city is also limiting access to public transport based on residents’ license plate numbers and spaces inside, in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
School children wearing masks line up to get their hands sanitized and temperatures checked as they arrive to appear for state board examination during the coronavirus pandemic in Kochi, Kerala state, India, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/R S Iyer)
School children wearing masks line up to get their hands sanitized and temperatures checked as they arrive to appear for state board examination during the coronavirus pandemic in Kochi, Kerala state, India, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/R S Iyer)
Ambulance workers take turns spraying each other with disinfectant after delivering a patient to the COVID-19 triage unit at Mexico General Hospital in Mexico City, Monday, May 25, 2020. Authorities have predicted that coronavirus cases in the city would peak in May, with reopening measures currently slated for mid-June. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Ambulance workers take turns spraying each other with disinfectant after delivering a patient to the COVID-19 triage unit at Mexico General Hospital in Mexico City, Monday, May 25, 2020. Authorities have predicted that coronavirus cases in the city would peak in May, with reopening measures currently slated for mid-June. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
FILE - In this file photo dated Nov. 7, 2019, showing Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson alongside Douglas Ross, parliamentary under-secretary of state for Scotland, right in Moray, Scotland. Junior British government minister Douglas Ross has quit Tuesday May 26, 2020, over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s failure to fire his top aide Dominic Cummings for allegedly breaching COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown rules. (Stefan Rousseau / PA via AP)
FILE - In this file photo dated Nov. 7, 2019, showing Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson alongside Douglas Ross, parliamentary under-secretary of state for Scotland, right in Moray, Scotland. Junior British government minister Douglas Ross has quit Tuesday May 26, 2020, over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s failure to fire his top aide Dominic Cummings for allegedly breaching COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown rules. (Stefan Rousseau / PA via AP)
Danish taxicompany Dantaxi installs safety measures in their vehicles, in Copenhagen, Tuesday May 26, 2020. The cars are fitted with information stickers, plexiglass segregating the driver from passenger and hand sanitising liquid to control the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Danish taxicompany Dantaxi installs safety measures in their vehicles, in Copenhagen, Tuesday May 26, 2020. The cars are fitted with information stickers, plexiglass segregating the driver from passenger and hand sanitising liquid to control the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, wearing a protective mask because of the coronavirus, speaks to Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu after a joint press conference in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, wearing a protective mask because of the coronavirus, speaks to Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu after a joint press conference in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
A woman is sunbathing on a beach chair by the sea in Norderney, Lower Saxony, Germany Tuesday May 26, 2020. Numbers of tourists are lower than normal because of the coronavirus. (Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa via AP)
Condensation fills the face shield of a police trainee during a simulation exercise for proper social distancing at the LRT-2 station on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 in Manila, Philippines. The exercise is held to prepare for the possible resumption of public transportation as the community lockdown to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus might be more relaxed next week. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Condensation fills the face shield of a police trainee during a simulation exercise for proper social distancing at the LRT-2 station on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 in Manila, Philippines. The exercise is held to prepare for the possible resumption of public transportation as the community lockdown to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus might be more relaxed next week. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Signs warn about social distancing in front of the Eisbach wave in the English Garden, on whose banks various surfers are standing with their boards. The artificial wave was closed for several weeks due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The wave is a popular hotspot for surfers and spectators all year round. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP)
Signs warn about social distancing in front of the Eisbach wave in the English Garden, on whose banks various surfers are standing with their boards. The artificial wave was closed for several weeks due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The wave is a popular hotspot for surfers and spectators all year round. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP)
A medical worker moves a patient from the COVID-19 triage unit at Mexico General Hospital, in Mexico City, Monday, May 25, 2020. Authorities have predicted that coronavirus cases in the city would peak in May, with reopening measures currently slated for mid-June. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A medical worker moves a patient from the COVID-19 triage unit at Mexico General Hospital, in Mexico City, Monday, May 25, 2020. Authorities have predicted that coronavirus cases in the city would peak in May, with reopening measures currently slated for mid-June. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A SOS Funeral worker wearing protection equipment amid the new coronavirus pandemic prepares to remove the body of Eldon Cascais in Manaus, Brazil, Saturday, May 9, 2020. According to relatives, Cascais had lung cancer and died at home after suffering from shortness of breath, cough and fatigue for a week. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A SOS Funeral worker wearing protection equipment amid the new coronavirus pandemic prepares to remove the body of Eldon Cascais in Manaus, Brazil, Saturday, May 9, 2020. According to relatives, Cascais had lung cancer and died at home after suffering from shortness of breath, cough and fatigue for a week. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Men gather at a fish market in Manaus, Brazil, May 22, 2020. Although health experts warn that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over in Manaus, or across the country, national polls show adherence to lockdowns and quarantines falling, and a growing percentage of Brazilians are neglecting local leaders’ safety recommendations. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Men gather at a fish market in Manaus, Brazil, May 22, 2020. Although health experts warn that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over in Manaus, or across the country, national polls show adherence to lockdowns and quarantines falling, and a growing percentage of Brazilians are neglecting local leaders’ safety recommendations. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An elderly COVID-19 patient is treated inside a non-invasive ventilation system named the Vanessa Capsule at a municipal field hospital Gilberto Novaes in Manaus, Brazil, Monday, May 18, 2020. The field hospital, set up inside a school, has nearly 150 beds and is operating near its limit as it treats patients both from the capital and remote Amazon areas. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An elderly COVID-19 patient is treated inside a non-invasive ventilation system named the Vanessa Capsule at a municipal field hospital Gilberto Novaes in Manaus, Brazil, Monday, May 18, 2020. The field hospital, set up inside a school, has nearly 150 beds and is operating near its limit as it treats patients both from the capital and remote Amazon areas. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Emergency workers transfer an elderly patient, suspected of having COVID-19, to a hospital in Manaus, Brazil, Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Per capita, Manaus is Brazil’s major city hardest hit by COVID-19. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Emergency workers transfer an elderly patient, suspected of having COVID-19, to a hospital in Manaus, Brazil, Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Per capita, Manaus is Brazil’s major city hardest hit by COVID-19. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A man wearing a protective face mask passes the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, as employees arrive for the partial reopening of the trading floor. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Customers leave Urban Outfitters with their purchases as they shop at Pacific City shopping mall on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Huntington Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A worker from Bidvest Prestige wearing protective gear, sprays disinfectant in a classroom to help reduce the spread the new coronavirus ahead of the reopening of Landulwazi Comprehensive School, east of Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, ahead of the June 1, 2020, re-opening of Grade 7 and 12 learners to school. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A worker from Bidvest Prestige wearing protective gear, sprays disinfectant in a classroom to help reduce the spread the new coronavirus ahead of the reopening of Landulwazi Comprehensive School, east of Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, ahead of the June 1, 2020, re-opening of Grade 7 and 12 learners to school. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A funeral worker wearing protective gear as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus, sprays disinfectant on a coffin that contains the remains of person who died from the new coronavirus, at the San Jose hospital in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
A funeral worker wearing protective gear as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus, sprays disinfectant on a coffin that contains the remains of person who died from the new coronavirus, at the San Jose hospital in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Yara Loureiro, right, speaks with her 90-year-old mother Lourdes Giannini through a glass window at the Premier Hospital, where her mother is a patient after suffering a stroke, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. The hospital does not have any cases of COVID-19, but has closed visits to patients to prevent contagion of the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Yara Loureiro, right, speaks with her 90-year-old mother Lourdes Giannini through a glass window at the Premier Hospital, where her mother is a patient after suffering a stroke, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. The hospital does not have any cases of COVID-19, but has closed visits to patients to prevent contagion of the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Aman Patel wears a protective face mask as he works on the partially reopened trading floor, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Stocks surged on Wall Street in afternoon trading Tuesday, driving the S&P 500 to its highest level in nearly three months, as hopes for economic recovery overshadow worries about the coronavirus pandemic. (Colin Zimmer/New York Stock Exchange via AP)
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Aman Patel wears a protective face mask as he works on the partially reopened trading floor, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Stocks surged on Wall Street in afternoon trading Tuesday, driving the S&P 500 to its highest level in nearly three months, as hopes for economic recovery overshadow worries about the coronavirus pandemic. (Colin Zimmer/New York Stock Exchange via AP)
Vin Norton, of Wellesley, Mass., left, gets his hair cut by barber Cristian Lopez, of Sherborn, Mass., at Barber Walter’s barbershop, as they both wear masks out of concern for the coronavirus, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Wellesley. Hair salons and barbershops were allowed to open Monday, May 25 in Massachusetts after being closed for about two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Vin Norton, of Wellesley, Mass., left, gets his hair cut by barber Cristian Lopez, of Sherborn, Mass., at Barber Walter’s barbershop, as they both wear masks out of concern for the coronavirus, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Wellesley. Hair salons and barbershops were allowed to open Monday, May 25 in Massachusetts after being closed for about two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Indians wearing face masks as prevention against the coronavirus walk past a roadside bookshop in Bengaluru, India, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. For a seventh consecutive day India reported a record single-day jump in new virus cases. India has been easing its lockdown, with domestic flights resuming Monday at a fraction of normal. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Indians wearing face masks as prevention against the coronavirus walk past a roadside bookshop in Bengaluru, India, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. For a seventh consecutive day India reported a record single-day jump in new virus cases. India has been easing its lockdown, with domestic flights resuming Monday at a fraction of normal. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Carabinieri officers patrol the city trendy Navigli district in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Two northern regions account for far more than half of Italy’s latest confirmed cases. According to Health Ministry figures, Lombardy, which was hardest hit by coronavirus infections and deaths in the nation’s outbreak, registered 159 new cases in the 24-hour period ending Tuesday evening, while neighboring Piedmont registered 86 cases. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Carabinieri officers patrol the city trendy Navigli district in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Two northern regions account for far more than half of Italy’s latest confirmed cases. According to Health Ministry figures, Lombardy, which was hardest hit by coronavirus infections and deaths in the nation’s outbreak, registered 159 new cases in the 24-hour period ending Tuesday evening, while neighboring Piedmont registered 86 cases. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
A worker directs traffic at a coronavirus testing site set up at Dodger Stadium Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Customers sit at a terrace bar of Mayor square in downtown Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Spain’s Foreign Minister says that European Union members should agree to a common approach to open borders, re-establish freedom of travel in the Schengen Area and define which countries outside it should be considered safe to travel from and to. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Customers sit at a terrace bar of Mayor square in downtown Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Spain’s Foreign Minister says that European Union members should agree to a common approach to open borders, re-establish freedom of travel in the Schengen Area and define which countries outside it should be considered safe to travel from and to. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Joseph and Julia Salvaggio, vacationing from Long Island, N.Y., enjoy a glass of wine at the Wild Sea Oyster Bar and Grille at the Riverside Hotel during the new coronavirus pandemic, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The restaurant closed the bar and installed protective dividers between tables. Hotels, beaches and gyms reopened throughout Broward County Tuesday after being closed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Joseph and Julia Salvaggio, vacationing from Long Island, N.Y., enjoy a glass of wine at the Wild Sea Oyster Bar and Grille at the Riverside Hotel during the new coronavirus pandemic, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The restaurant closed the bar and installed protective dividers between tables. Hotels, beaches and gyms reopened throughout Broward County Tuesday after being closed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks surged on Wall Street to their highest levels since the business shutdowns took hold in the U.S. over two months ago, climbing on optimism Tuesday about the reopening economy even as the nation’s official death toll from the coronavirus closed in on 100,000, a number President Donald Trump once predicted the country would never see.
With infections mounting rapidly in places like Brazil and India, a top global health official warned that the crisis is far from over.
In a largely symbolic move, the New York Stock Exchange trading floor in Manhattan reopened for the first time in two months, with plexiglass barriers, masks and a reduced number of traders to adhere to 6-foot (2-meter) social distancing rules. Those entering the NYSE will have their temperatures taken and were asked to avoid public transportation.
The S&P 500 closed 1.2% higher, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 530 points, or 2.2%. Markets worldwide also rose.
“These little baby steps that we start to see different states reopening, different policies that are being allowed that weren’t allowed two weeks ago — these are all clear signals that we’re moving in the right direction,” said Jonathan Corpina, senior managing partner at Meridian Equity Partners.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has presided over the state with the highest death toll from the scourge, rang the bell to set off trading at the NYSE.
Several thousand brokers and others used to crowd the trading floor as recently as the 1990s. But in the years since, the rise of electronic trading from computer terminals grew to dominate the action on Wall Street. These days, there are about 500 floor traders at the NYSE.
The rally took place as the government reported that U.S. consumer confidence inched up this month, showing signs of stabilizing. Still, it remains near a six-year low in the face of the widespread business shutdowns that have sent the economy into recession and driven unemployment to levels last seen during the Great Depression.
Over the past few days, rental car giant Hertz and South America’s biggest airline, Latam, filed for bankruptcy, joining the likes of J. Crew, J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus.
Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 5.5 million people and killed over 348,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Europe has recorded about 170,000 deaths, while the U.S. was approaching 100,000 in a span of less than four months, more than the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined.
The true death toll is widely believed to be significantly higher, with experts saying many victims died of the virus without ever being tested for it.
Trump several months ago likened the coronavirus to the flu and dismissed worries it could lead to so many deaths. The administration’s leading scientists have since warned that as many as 240,000 could perish from the virus.
In hard-hit New York, Cuomo reported a one-day total Tuesday of 73 deaths, the lowest figure in months, and down from a peak of nearly 800.
“In this absurd new reality, that is good news,” he said.
Still, even the GOP convention in August is up in the air, with Republicans talking about pulling it out of North Carolina because of concerns authorities there might not allow such a large gathering. Georgia and Florida — both led by Republican governors — have offered to host the convention.
In Italy, where the crisis is easing but the death toll is a staggering 33,000, the ancient ruins at Pompeii were reopened to the public Tuesday, and the Colosseum in Rome, one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions, will begin receiving visitors again on June 1, though entrance times will be staggered to reduce crowding and tickets must be bought online.
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli revealed that he has recovered from COVID-19 and went to a hospital in Pisa on Tuesday to donate plasma for research about coronavirus treatments.
The World Health Organization said that the world remains mired in only the first stage of the pandemic, putting a damper on hopes for a speedy global economic rebound.
“Right now, we’re not in the second wave. We’re right in the middle of the first wave globally,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO’s executive director.
“We’re still very much in a phase where the disease is actually on the way up,” Ryan said, pointing to South America, South Asia and other parts of the world.
India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, saw a record single-day jump in new cases for the seventh straight day. It reported 6,535 new infections Tuesday, raising its total to over 145,000, including almost 4,200 deaths.
Chilean authorities said Tuesday that 95% of its 2,400 intensive care beds are occupied even after doubling capacity from March levels. An average of 4,000 new infections are being reported daily.
In Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro has raged against state and local leaders enforcing stay-at-home measures, WHO warned that before reopening the economy, authorities must have enough testing in place to control the spread of the virus.
Brazil has about 375,000 coronavirus infections — second only to the 1.6 million cases in the U.S. — and has counted over 23,000 deaths, but many fear Brazil’s true toll is much higher.
Ryan said that because of Brazil’s “intense” transmission rates, it should keep some stay-at-home measures in place, regardless of the damage to the economy.
“You must continue to do everything you can,” he said.
A U.S. travel ban was set to take effect Tuesday for foreigners coming from Brazil.
In Europe, Russian’s Vladimir Putin announced that the postponed military parade marking the 75th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II will take place on June 24. Victory Day has become the most important holiday in Russia, traditionally marked on May 9 with a show of armed might in Red Square.
Russia reported a record one-day spike Tuesday of 174 deaths, bringing the country’s confirmed death toll to over 3,800. Russia’s coronavirus caseload surpassed 360,000 — third-highest in the world — with almost 9,000 new infections registered.
The country’s comparatively low mortality rate has raised questions among experts. Russian officials deny manipulating the figures and attribute the low numbers to the effectiveness of the country’s lockdowns.
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Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
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Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.