Trump to address the nation amid virus pandemic

President Donald Trump says he will address the nation Wedesday night at 8 p.m. regarding what his administration is doing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump's comments came during a roundtable meeting with Wall Street bankers at the White House.

Seven weeks after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the U.S., the outbreak is now classified as a pandemic and it's doing widespread damage to critical economic sectors of the global economy.

Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street, shaving 5.9% off the Dow Jones Industrial Average and bringing the index into a bear market.

The more widely followed S&P 500 is within one percentage point of its own bear market, which would mark the end of one of Wall Street's greatest eras.

Airlines are cutting capacity, people are working from home, major public events that raise millions of dollars for local communities have been canceled, including the St. Patrick's Day parade in Boston and Chicago, and the New York Auto Show.

For most, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough.

But for a few, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia. More than 121,000 people have been infected worldwide and over 4,300 have died. But most people recover.