Buffett moves shareholder meeting online, English Premier League suspended

This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are in Eastern time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. 

• Global cases: More than 135,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
• Global deaths: At least 4,977, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
• US cases: At least 1,701, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
• US deaths: At least 40, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the current market sell-off will be short lived and, as such, looks like a compelling investment opportunity for investors looking to buy equities at a discount. 

“This is a short-term issue. It may be a couple of months but we’re going to get through this and the economy will be stronger than ever,” the secretary said from the White House.

“I look back at people who bought stocks after the crash in 1987, people who bought stocks after the financial crisis. For long-term investors, this will be a great investment opportunity,” he said. —Thomas Franck

U.S. stock futures surged in volatile trading as Wall Street tried to recoup some of the sharp losses suffered in the previous session — the worst since the “Black Monday” market crash in 1987.

S&P 500 futures jumped more than 5% to reach their “limit up” level. These limit levels act as a ceiling for buying until regular trading begins and are meant to insure orderly trading. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up more than 1,100 points, implying a gain of nearly 1,000 points. Nasdaq 100 futures also surged. —Fred Imbert, Yun Li

Warren Buffett announced Friday that Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder’s meeting will not be held with shareholders present as the coronavirus continues to spread. The meeting will be streamed online by Yahoo Finance. 

“I very much regret this action; for many decades the annual meeting has been a high point of the year for me and my partner, Charlie Munger,” Buffett said in a letter to shareholders. “It is now clear, however, that large gatherings can pose a health threat to the participants and the greater community.”

Berkshire’s annual meeting — which is slated for May 2 — has become a staple in the global business community. In 2018, more than 40,000 people from around the world attended the event known by some as “Woodstock for Capitalists.” —Fred Imbert

The government of Hubei, the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak, has lowered the epidemic risk ratings of several cities and regions, leaving only the capital of Wuhan as “high risk” as of the end of March 12, according to the Hubei Daily, a state-owned local paper.

Compared to March 10, 18 more cities and counties in the province were lowered to low risk, while five fell to medium risk from high risk, it said. —Reuters

Small business owners are beginning to feel early impacts, such as supply-chain problems and lost sales. New data from the National Federation of Independent Business show that the current effects may be limited, but worries are big.

The group found that 74% of small businesses say they are not yet impacted by the pandemic, while 23% say they are being negatively affected. Just 3% report positive impacts. The group polled a random sample of 300 of its 300,000 members on Tuesday and Wednesday from employers with up to 120 workers. —Kate Rogers

For decades, the NYSE has had contingency plans to continue to operate in the event the floor might have to close.  At one point, there was even a “mirror” floor in Brooklyn. Today, the NYSE has plans to continue to operate electronically should the floor need to close.  Last weekend, the NYSE conducted a test of their trading systems to ensure they could open electronically without the floor. —Bob Pisani

The Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization for a coronavirus test made by Swiss diagnostics maker Roche, a move aimed at boosting screening capacity to help contain the pandemic. The tests provide results in 3.5 hours and can produce up to 4,128 results in 24 hours, Roche said Friday. The FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization allows the tests to be deployed in markets including the United States as well as others accepting the CE mark signifying they conform to European directives. —Reuters

The governing bodies of English soccer have announced in a joint statement that elite-level matches, including the Premier League, will be suspended until early April.

It becomes the latest sports league to have been temporarily halted as a result of the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has infected more than 135,000 people worldwide.

In the U.S., all four major and active leagues have ceased competition in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. — Sam Meredith

Croatia and Estonia have moved to shut down schools for an extended period in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced Friday that schools and universities in the country would close for two weeks starting Monday. Estonia’s government decided to close schools and ban public gatherings nationwide until May 1.

Croatia has reported 19 cases of the coronavirus, while Estonia has confirmed 16 infections. Neither country has recorded any deaths as a result of COVID-19. — Sam Meredith

Indonesia’s health ministry told reporters Friday that COVID-19 infections jumped to 69, up from 34 cases Thursday. An official for the country’s health ministry said the cases ranged from ages 2 to 80, Reuters reported, and three people with the coronavirus had died. —Sam Meredith

President Donald Trump said coronavirus testing in the U.S. would soon take place on a “very large scale basis,” without providing any details on how this might be carried out. “All Red Tape has been cut, ready to go!” Trump said via Twitter. The U.S. has reported 1,701 cases of COVID-19, with 40 deaths nationwide. —Sam Meredith

Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Trump claims ‘very large scale’ testing; Indonesia cases double