Lost jobs: The novel coronavirus has prompted hundreds of layoffs over the past week and officially halted the historic 11-year bull market in stocks, according to a new Washington Post report that details the number of jobs lost so far. Airlines, hotels, travel agencies and event companies have all been suffering for weeks, but new interviews with more than two dozen firms and workers reveal that the pain is now translating into layoffs in a wider circle of industries. Read the full story.
Extra steps: Heads of the Capital City’s Knock Knock Children’s Museum say they are taking extra measures to make sure the museum is safe and clean for visitors. Manager of Visitor and Volunteer Services Diana Barnes says the entire museum, including small toys, is now being cleaned from top to bottom multiple times a day. Read full announcement.
Buyer beware: Anxious shoppers have turned to Amazon.com for face masks, hand sanitizer and other products promising to help protect against the virus, but many products didn’t have federal certifications for the safety standards they were touting while others were counterfeit or deceptively labeled. More than 100 safety masks and respirators on Amazon were counterfeit or had unverifiable protection and certification claims, a Wall Street Journal investigation found. Read the full story.
