U.S. stocks have plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 361 points Friday. 

The dismal performance follows the soaring unemployment numbers, which hit a record 6.6 million new claims in the past week. 

The government reported on Friday that 701,000 U.S. jobs were lost in March. 

The U.S. Navy captain of an aircraft carrier facing an outbreak of the coronavirus was fired by Navy leaders after a memo pleading for help was leaked to news outlets this week. 

According to acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, Capt. Brett Crozier, "demonstrated extremely poor judgment," by sending out the memo, which was leaked to a California newspaper and published by other news outlets. 

Video emerged of members from the USS Theodore Roosevelt of sailors applauding Crozier and hailing him as a hero. 

The move has been condemned by congressional members, with a number of U.S. senators calling for a formal probe into the firing. 

The aircraft carrier, currently docked in Guam, will see close to 3,000 crew members taken off the ship and quarantined. More than 100 sailors have tested positive for the virus. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that Americans cover their faces when they are outside, to prevent more of a spread of the virus, but President Trump calls it "voluntary."

Trump also said he directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prevent the export of N95 masks under the Defense Production Act.

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