Global Cases Top 7 Million; N.Z. to End Measures: Virus Update
(Bloomberg) —
Worldwide infections from the coronavirus surpassed the 7 million mark, a little more than a week after reaching 6 million cases. The global pandemic is hitting such milestones faster as hot spots including Brazil and India drive a daily increase of more than 100,000 cases a day.
New Zealand said it will remove social distancing measures after reporting zero active cases for the first time since the pandemic reached its shores. U.S. infections rose at below the week’s average.
China lambasted suggestions that it hid information about the coronavirus outbreak, saying it has acted transparently. AstraZeneca Plc has approached rival Gilead Sciences Inc. about a potential merger, which would bring together two drugmakers behind the industry’s most prominent responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Key Developments:
Virus Tracker: Cases pass 7 million; deaths exceed 402,000Big pharma looks beyond Covid-19 with AstraZeneca eyeing GileadChina issues Australia travel warning as relationship soursChina denies cover-up, rejects ‘politicization’ of coronavirusMask or no mask? And which kind? What the experts say: QuickTake
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N.Z. to End Social Distancing as Active Cases Reach Zero (11:22 a.m. HK)
New Zealand will remove social distancing requirements after reporting zero active cases of Covid-19, indicating it may have achieved its aim of eliminating the virus.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said all remaining restrictions on people and businesses, other than strict border controls to keep the virus out, will be lifted at midnight, paving the way for a resumption of normal life. The South Pacific nation earlier reported that the last of its coronavirus patients has recovered.
HK to Relax Rules for Business Executives: SCMP (9:03 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong will allow 480 of the largest companies to send two directors or executives per month to the city from mainland China for certain business activities without being quarantined, South China Morning Post reported, citing Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury Christopher Hui in an interview.
The relaxation will cover companies including Tencent Holdings Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and HSBC Holdings Plc.
Japan’s Economy Shrank Less Than Estimated (7:56 a.m. HK)
Japan’s economy contracted less than initially estimated last quarter, after revisions showed stronger capital investment, even as the coronavirus pandemic pushed the country into a recession.
The Cabinet Office’s revised report showed gross domestic product shrank an annualized 2.2% compared with the last quarter of 2019, better than an initial estimate of a 3.4% contraction. Economists had expected a revision to minus 2.1%.
U.K. Quarantine May Further Slam Airlines (7:05 a.m. HK)
The U.K. will impose a two-week quarantine on arriving international passengers, a move British Airways and other carriers say will devastate tourism and wreck any chance the summer holiday season could spark a recovery from a virus-induced slump.
BA, along with EasyJet Plc and Ryanair Holdings Plc, threatened to sue the government over the policy, which takes effect Monday, saying restrictions will be ineffective while threatening thousands of jobs. The airlines fear the move will make lockdown-weary customers put off bookings just as carriers add capacity.
Chile Mine Death Prompts Vigilance (6:10 a.m. HK)
Chile, the top copper-producing nation, is increasing supervision to ensure mines comply with Covid-19 safety measures after a worker died at state-owned Codelco’s Chuquicamata division.
So far, Codelco has continued operating, adopting safety measures without stalling output. Chile’s mining industry had been helped by relatively low nationwide rates of illness. But now, the South American country reports thousands of cases daily, pushing hospitals toward collapse and prompting authorities to tighten restrictions.
Drugmakers Look Beyond Covid (5:45 p.m. NY)
Two of the drugmakers behind the most prominent responses to the Covid-19 pandemic are looking into the possibility of a combined future as economies emerge from lockdowns.
AstraZeneca Plc, co-developer of one of the fastest-moving experimental vaccines, has made a preliminary approach to Gilead Sciences Inc., maker of the only U.S.-approved treatment, according to people familiar with the matter. If they decided to pursue a merger, it would be the biggest deal ever in the sector.
The mere suggestion of a blockbuster merger is a sign the industry is getting back to something resembling business as usual. Even successful Covid-19 treatments or vaccines are unlikely to be big moneymakers, meaning drugmakers face the return of old pressures to gain scale and boost innovation, or risk becoming targets.
Sweden’s Strategy Rebuked in Debate (5:10 p.m. NY)
Sweden’s prime minister was forced to defend his Covid-19 strategy after opposition parties mounted a scathing attack amid signs the government’s handling of the pandemic was badly flawed.
With more than 4,500 deaths, and Sweden’s chief epidemiologist — who advised keeping most of society open — admitting mistakes, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven became the target during a broadcast debate of party leaders Sunday night. Ulf Kristersson, leader of the main opposition party, said “there have been obvious, fundamental failures.”
Lofven said there’s no reason to abandon the approach but acknowledged room for improvement. “We have far too many fatalities in elderly care.” He also said the government “should have tested more people.” Swedes now face travel restrictions in the European Union due to the country’s high infection rate.
N.Y. Urges Protesters to Get Covid Test (5 p.m. NY)
New York will open 15 coronavirus tests sites for people in the city who joined protests against the death in police custody of George Floyd, and Governor Andrew Cuomo urged demonstrators to get tested. The goal is to do 35,000 tests a day, he said.
“We have tested everything else. We have measured everything else and everything was going fine and then we had this large number of protests,” Cuomo said Sunday. “We don’t know what the effect of those protests are and we are concerned about it. All of the health experts I have spoken to are concerned about it.”
U.S. Cases Rise 1%, Below Week’s Average (4 p.m. NY)
U.S. coronavirus cases rose 1% from the same time Saturday to 1.93 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The increase was below the average daily increase of 1.2% over the past week. Fatalities increased 0.5% to 110,037. New York had 781 new cases, a 0.2% increase and the fewest since late March. Arkansas’s cases jumped 5.2%, the most among states.
France Plans Aerospace Aid (3:30 p.m. NY)
France will offer a plan worth “billions of euros” to rescue its beleaguered aerospace industry, Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said Sunday, as companies struggle with fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
The aid package to be presented Tuesday is aimed at European jet manufacturer Airbus SE, engine maker Safran SA, defense group Thales SA, and hundreds of suppliers that have lost business during the pandemic.
Separately, many European nations will probably agree to reopen air travel in the so-called Schengen area from June 15, assuming the crisis continues to abate, Djebbari added. Air France’s flights may rise from 5% of its usual level to 15% from June 15, and to 40% in mid-August, he said.
De Blasio Cautions on Fast Reopening (3 p.m. NY)
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio sought to lower expectations for a swift return to business-as-usual after the first phase of reopening starts on Monday. The second phase could begin in two weeks, if all the state-mandated health and safety metrics remain on track.
“I don’t want expectations so high about it being later in June and then the disappointment, if it can’t happen,” de Blasio said. “If I start to see the indicators and thresholds going in the wrong direction, I’m going to be very vocal about it.”
De Blasio said the city also is monitoring the impact of recent protests with thousands of people in close proximity, which could reverse the infection trends.
FDA Warns on Chinese Respirators (2:35 p.m. NY)
Chinese respirators used by health-care professionals in treating coronavirus patients should not be decontaminated for reuse, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said, reversing a decision that had allowed the action when such devices were in short supply.
The FDA said tests by a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found variations in the design and performance of the Chinese respirators that make them unsuitable for decontamination.
The FDA is revising emergency use authorizations to reflect which devices can be reued, said Anand Shah, deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs. The agency was responding to safety concerns about decontaminating certain respirators.
France Hospitalizations Decline (2:30 p.m. NY)
France reported the number of patients hospitalized continued to decline, falling by 18 to 12,461, official statistics showed. Confirmed cases rose by 343 to 191,382. Deaths rose by 13 to 29,155, based on hospital data, with reporting of nursing-home fatalities delayed to Tuesday.
N.Y. Lights Up Landmarks (1:45 p.m. NY)
New York landmarks from One World Trade Center and Rockefeller Center to Niagara Falls will be lit in blue and gold to mark progress in fighting the coronavirus, Governor Cuomo said.
“A lot of people have suffered to get here, but what we have done together was extraordinary,” Cuomo said. “Forget flattening the curve of the virus — we bent the curve — and New Yorkers should be proud of their accomplishment.”
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