We are truly witnessing some unprecedented events unfold before our eyes. In about a month, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) went from being a sparse illness in the U.S. that was primarily ravaging parts of China to a global pandemic.
As of Monday, March 16, more than 181,500 cases of COVID-19 has been reported worldwide, leading to over 7,100 deaths, per Johns Hopkins University. But it's the quintupling in confirmed U.S. cases over a one-week stretch (ended March 16) that has the stock market on edge. Having seen how China handled its problem, a number of major U.S. cities have adopted similar mitigation measures. As a result, economic activity in certain regions and industries has come to a grinding halt, lending to the growing idea that a recession may be inevitable.
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