LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Markets rally

U.S. stocks skyrocketed Tuesday on hopes that Congress would pass the stimulus bill. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 11%, the highest percentage leap since 1933. The Standard & Poor’s 500 jumped more than 9%. Overall, markets have lost nearly one-third of their value since the coronavirus crisis began battering global economies.

Tracking the curve

U.S. deaths leaped by more than 100 people in a 24-hour period to reach 674 by Tuesday afternoon. The U.S. had more than 51,000 cases of the virus, with roughly half in New York state. Globally, more than 18,000 have died and more than 400,000 are infected.

The World Health Organization said it took 67 days from the first reported coronavirus cases to reach 100,000. The next 100,000 took 11 days, the next 100,000 just four days. India’s 1.3 billion people are now under a lockdown, similar to the U.K.

The search for a cure

Doctors and scientists are pushing back against President Donald Trump’s claims of a potential treatment for COVID-19, noting that the two malaria drugs he has touted are unproven against coronavirus and carry risks of side effects. WHO’s director said untested drugs can provide false hope and cause shortages of treatments for other diseases.

Learning more of virus

Scientists say the virus can live on surfaces for up to 17 days. Medical groups also are seeing a loss of the sense of smell or taste in a significant number of cases, another key identifier of infection. In some cases, the losses can be permanent.