Latin America Leads Global Surge; New Florida High: Virus Update
The number of new cases around the globe reached a record in the most recent World Health Organization daily report, fueled by a surge in Latin America. In the U.S., Florida’s new infections rose to another high.
The U.K. reported fewer than 1,000 new cases for the first time since its lockdown was declared March 23, and Delta Air Lines resumed flights to China. Germany’s infection rate rose for a third day, lifted by local outbreaks including many at a slaughterhouse.
Beijing reported nine new infections, a sign that a recent outbreak is under control. China blocked poultry from a Tyson Foods plant where many workers tested positive. Russian infections and deaths also flattened.
Global Tracker: Cases pass 8.9 million; deaths top 468,000New hot spots are emerging in rural villages across IndiaEurope’s top virus repellers can’t dodge pandemic’s economic hitChina blocks Tyson poultry, stoking angst over global suppliesJohnson to set out lockdown easing plans as U.K. cases fall
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Fauci Says He’s No Obstacle to NFL Season (12:54 p.m. NY)
Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease specialist, said he’s been mistakenly painted as an obstacle to the National Football League’s upcoming season and only gave its officials advice after they requested it.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said he was consulted by the NFL as it searches for a way to preserve the safety of players and the public during the pandemic.
“I haven’t set any strict conditions or other directions for the football league,” Fauci said in an interview. “They have come to me and asked me from a medical standpoint a bunch of questions about risks. They are a very competent group of people, and they will make up their own minds.”
Fauci told CNN last week that the league’s season may not be played if there’s a resurgence in cases, unless players are essentially kept in a “bubble” isolating them from others and tested almost every day. U.S. President Donald Trump said later in a tweet that he told the scientist that he has “nothing to do with football.”
Covid-19 Accelerates in Latin America, WHO Says (12:45 p.m. NY)
The number of new cases reached a record 183,000 in the most recent World Health Organization daily report as the disease spreads in several big countries simultaneously, WHO officials said at a press briefing in Geneva.
Latin America is particularly afflicted. The number of reported cases has increased 25% in Brazil over the past week, while Chile is up 41% and Argentina 38%, according to Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s health emergencies program.
Separately, there’s been a limited number of transmissions of the disease from humans to minks at farms in the Netherlands and Denmark, and back again to people, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s lead technical officer on Covid-19. Still, the predominant way the disease spreads is through human-to-human transmission, she said.
Illinois Expands Reopening (12:30 p.m. NY)
All four regions of Illinois are on track to enter Phase 4 on June 26. It’s the second to last step of the state’s reopening plan. About 400,000 Illinois residents are expected to go back to work as sectors such as health and fitness, movies and theater, museums and zoos, as well as indoor dining at restaurants are allowed to resume, Governor J.B. Pritzker’s office said in a statement.
Gatherings can expand up as many as 50 people, and indoor dining can resume with groups of 10 or less, tables 6-feet (1.8 meters) apart and standing areas at no more than 25% of capacity. Chicago and state officials said that public health metrics such as new Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are moving down, allowing the city to enter Phase 4 after it was delayed in the third stage.
“We’ve continued to see really good progress,” Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said during a call with reporters. Capacity limits may be expanded or eased during Phase 4 if the numbers continue to decline but the city is taking incremental steps to avoid spikes that other places that re-opened have seen, she added.
Portugal Steps Up Measure in Lisbon Suburbs (11:54 a.m. NY)
The Portuguese government plans to tighten restrictions in some municipalities around Lisbon as it tries to contain new clusters of the outbreak in the city’s outskirts. Gatherings will now be limited to 10 people, down from 20 previously, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Monday.
Portugal reported 259 new coronavirus cases on Monday, and now has 12,310 active cases, Secretary of State for Health Antonio Lacerda Sales said at a press conference in Lisbon. Daily new cases have ranged between 192 and 421 in June, and the additional infections have mostly been recorded in the greater Lisbon region, where authorities have increased testing.
Murphy Expects Some ‘Spiking’ in N.J. (11:10 a.m. NY)
Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey, the second hardest-hit U.S. state, told CNN that if his state had a surge like Florida’s, he would do a turnaround on his gradual and restricted return of retail, dining and other services.
“You’d have to put some sort of break on the reopening,” Murphy said. “You’d have no choice.” He said New Jersey is certain to see “some amount of spiking” as indoor activity increases, but he’s counting on testing and contact tracing to prevent mass flare-ups.
New Jersey starting Monday allowed barber shops and salons to reopen, by appointment only and with masks and other precautions in place. Indoor shopping malls can open on June 29, but Murphy hasn’t set an opening date for movie theaters, indoor dining and gyms.
S.C. Protesters Urged to Get Tested (11:03 a.m. NY)
A leader of an anti-police brutality group in South Carolina is urging demonstrators to get tested after several people involved with the protests recently tested positive, The State newspaper from Columbia reports.
Lawrence Nathaniel, one of the leaders of the I Can’t Breathe South Carolina movement, posted a note on his Facebook page saying several protesters in Columbia marches from late May to mid-June tested positive. A video posted on his site also disclosed that several leaders and photographers from his group tested positive, and he urges protesters who marched in the group’s events in Columbia, Greenville and Charleston to get tested.
South Carolina is among the states in the South and Southwest seeing a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks. The state saw a record 1,157 new cases on Saturday, and 907 on Sunday.
Florida Cases Rise 3% (10:44 a.m. NY)
Florida reported 100,217 Covid-19 cases on Monday, up 3% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 3.7% in the previous seven days. Deaths among Florida residents reached 3,173, an increase of 0.4%.
Seen on a rolling seven-day basis, Florida’s new cases reached 22,891, the highest level ever.
Cumulative hospitalizations of Florida residents rose by 82, or 0.6%, to 13,119. On a rolling seven day-basis, they reached 1,104, the highest level since May 25.
The new rate of people testing positive for the first time fell to 7.7% for Sunday, from 11.9% on Saturday.
U.K. Deaths Lowest Since March (10:30 a.m. NY)
The U.K. reported fewer than 1,000 new cases for the first time since its lockdown was declared on March 23.
There were 15 deaths related to coronavirus, according to the daily update from the Department of Health and Social Care, the lowest since March 15. Reported deaths are usually lower on Mondays due to a lag in recording deaths over the weekend.
The U.K.’s reported figures will be closely watched ahead of an expected easing of lockdown restrictions on July 4, with more details due this week.
A total of 139,659 tests were carried out over the daily period, taking the cumulative total of tests to 8.03 million.
Delta to Resume U.S.-China Flights on June 25 (9:26 a.m.)
Delta Air Lines says it will restart service between Seattle and Shanghai-Pudong via Seoul-Incheon on June 25, operating twice per week.
It will operate once-weekly flights from Seattle and Detroit, also via Incheon, and says it is the first U.S. airline to reconnect U.S. and China since the Covid-19 travel suspension in February.
Gilead CEO Targets Inhaled Remdesivir Study for August (9:16 a.m. NY)
Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day said the company is screening healthy volunteers this week for Phase I trials of an inhaled formulation of its remdesivir drug. The treatment would be administered via a nebulizer, which is potentially easier to use outside of the hospital.
Remdesivir has already been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use with Covid-19 patients. The next wave of clinical development will study remdesivir for treatment earlier in the disease.
Scotland May Take Company Stakes to Prevent Collapse (8:42 a.m. NY)
Scotland’s government would consider taking stakes in companies to save them from going out of business if needed, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said. The semi-autonomous administration would look at the move as an extension of its “interventionist approach” to reviving Scotland’s economy, she told reporters in Edinburgh.
Netherlands Reports First Day With No Deaths Since March (8 a.m. NY)
The Netherlands reported no new Covid-19 fatalities for the first time since March 12. Total confirmed cases rose by 69 to 49,658, the lowest daily increase since March 10.
EU Health Chief Aims for Virus Vaccine Within 18 Months (7:43 a.m. NY)
European Union Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said the bloc aims to see a vaccine against the coronavirus in 12 to 18 months. Kyriakides offered the timetable in remarks to a European Parliament committee in Brussels while outlining EU efforts to negotiate agreements with vaccine developers on the advance purchase of possible doses. She said the usual time for developing vaccines is about a decade.
Israel Weighs Renewal of Controversial Tracking Tool (6:56 a.m. NY)
Israel is considering renewing the controversial use of government spying technology to help fight a surge in coronavirus cases.
“We know this topic is problematic, but on the other hand, we know it contributed greatly to keeping the epidemic in check,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday at a meeting of cabinet ministers.
More than 20,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed in Israel, with more than 300 fatalities. The number has risen from less than 17,000 a month ago after restrictions were eased and many people ignored guidelines on masks and social distancing.
Hong Kong Cases Increase Most Since April 3 (6:34 a.m. NY)
Hong Kong recorded 30 new imported cases of coronavirus Monday, the city’s Department of Health said. All but one had traveled to Pakistan during the incubation period, and one person had returned from the Philippines.
That was the biggest single-day increase in cases since April 3, bringing the confirmed tally to 1,161.
Iran Cases, Deaths Increase (6:05 a.m. NY)
Iran recorded 2,573 new infections in the last 24 hours, with 119 deaths. The daily case tally has held above 2,000 since May 26, while the latest death toll is close to the daily aveage of the past week.
The nation, a hotspot for the virus in the region, has 207,525 total cases.
South Africa Cases Approaching Peak, Minister Says (5:33 p.m. HK)
The outbreak in South Africa is about to peak and the government expects hospitals to start filling up with patients, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.
The number of new infections is projected to first peak in the Western Cape, which has been hardest hit by the pandemic, followed by Gauteng and the Eastern Cape province, Mkhize said in an interview with radio station Safm on Monday.
Toyota’s Japan Factories Returning to 90% of Target Output (4:48 p.m. HK)
Toyota Motor Corp. expects to increase production further in Japan during July as it restarts factories following the shutdown, reaching 90% of its targeted output level.
Six production lines will see suspensions during July for a total of 16 days, compared with 25 closed lines and 133 days of stoppage in June, the Japanese automaker said in a statement Monday.
India’s Glenmark Surges on Drug Approval (3:56 p.m. HK)
Shares of India’s Glenmark Pharmaceutical Ltd. climbed the most on record after it received approval to manufacture and sell a coronavirus treatment.
The nation’s drug regulator approved the manufacture and marketing of FabiFlu, or favipiravir, for the treatment of mild to moderate virus patients. The news sent the drugmaker’s share up as much as 40%. India also gave the nod to Cipla Ltd.’s Cipremi, or remdesivir, for use as an emergency treatment of Covid-19, pushing up its stock as much as 9.4%.
Deaths in Russia Drop to Lowest Level Since May 25 (3:43 p.m. HK)
Russia reported 7,600 new confirmed infections in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 592,280, according to data from the government’s virus response center.
The number of cases remained below 8,000 for a sixth straight day. Of those, 32.5% were asymptomatic, the government said.
The daily death toll was 95, the lowest since May 25, bringing the total to 8,206. Also in the past 24 hours, 4,705 people recovered.
Danes Much More Upbeat on GDP Outlook (3 p.m. HK)
Danes have a significantly more positive view of their country’s economic prospects after the government rolled back its lockdown amid signs Covid-19 has been brought under control.
An index measuring consumer confidence showed an overall increase to minus 3.1 in June from minus 8.8 a month earlier, Statistics Denmark said. More strikingly, the subindex measuring household views on GDP a year from revealed the first positive reading since mid-2019.
BOE’s Bailey Signals Major Shift in Stimulus Strategy (2:23 p.m. HK)
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey signaled a major shift in the central bank’s strategy for removing emergency stimulus, stressing the need to reduce the institution’s balance sheet before hiking interest rates.
Writing for Bloomberg Opinion, Bailey said such a plan would give officials more firepower in future crises. The BOE’s balance sheet has swelled to almost 700 billion pounds ($864 billion) because of its extraordinary measures during the coronavirus pandemic, and is set to grow much larger because of the central bank’s bond-buying program.
Outbreaks Drive Germany’s Infection Rate Higher (1:56 p.m. HK)
Germany’s coronavirus infection rate rose for a third day, lifted by local outbreaks including in North Rhine-Westphalia, where more than 1,300 people working at a slaughterhouse have tested positive.
The reproduction factor of the virus climbed to 2.88 on Sunday, from 1.79 the day before, according to the latest estimate by the country’s health body, the Robert Koch Institute. There were 602 new infections in Germany in the 24 hours through Monday morning, bringing the total to 191,272, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, 1,331 people working at a meat plant in Guetersloh have tested positive, out of 6,139 tested, according to the local authority. NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet said there is an “enormous pandemic risk” and the state has placed 7,000 in quarantine. He did not rule out a broader lockdown, but said he’d wait for advice from the RKI.
Italy Sees Tax Cuts for Hard-Hit Sectors (1:51 p.m. HK)
Italy is planning value-added tax reductions in areas hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, Deputy Finance Minister Laura Castelli said in an interview with la Repubblica, specifying areas including restaurants and tourism, clothing and cars.La Stampa reported that Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri, of the Democratic Party, favors proceeding more cautiously on tax cuts.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Sunday his government would likely seek a wider budget gap as he draws up an ambitious reform plan to lobby for European Union assistance to restart the economy.
Reusable Cups, Bags Safe to Use, Greenpeace Says (1:16 p.m. HK)
Reusable products are safe to use even during the coronavirus pandemic as long as basic hygiene practices are employed, according to Greenpeace USA Inc.
Single-use plastic is not inherently safer than reusable products as the virus can remain infectious on both surfaces for varying time, Greenpeace said in a statement endorsed by over 100 health experts around the globe. Either reusable or disposable, they can be cleaned with widely used household disinfectants, such as soap and detergent, it said.
Concern over virus transmission has spurred consumption of single-use plastic products globally, including personal protective gear, medical equipment and delivery packaging. The resurgence in the use of disposable materials will have negative impact on the environment and undermine years-long global efforts to curb plastic pollution, according to Greenpeace.
China Steps Up Loan Relief (11:59 a.m. HK)
Chinese banks have offered relief on 3.9 trillion yuan ($551 billion) of loans since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic to help struggling small businesses and bolster an economy facing its worst slump in four decades.
Lenders have postponed taking principal repayments on 1.44 trillion yuan in loans to almost 800,000 small businesses and pushed back 65.4 billion yuan in interest payments as of May 31, according to a China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission official who asked not be named citing internal policy. Banks also rolled over 2.4 trillion yuan in financing to small businesses.
(A previous version corrected Peru’s case count in the first paragraph)
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