(Bloomberg) —
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE received fast track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for two vaccine candidates, boosting their shares in pre-market trading.
Hong Kong reported 41 new local cases, another record high, and may tighten social distancing measures amid fears of a resurgence after weeks of near-normal activity. More than half a million residents defied the fresh outbreak and government warnings to vote in an unofficial primary.
U.S. virus cases rose to 3.27 million with almost 56,000 new infections, less than the one-week average daily increase. Florida broke the daily record for all U.S. states with more than 15,000 new cases. India added more than 50,000 new cases over the weekend, with deaths topping 1,000.
Key Developments:
Global Tracker: Cases top 12.9 million; deaths surpass 569,000Covid-19 reinvades U.S. statesDeath rate in majority-Black countries is getting worseThe pros and cons of pooling Covid-19 testsAnonymity helped overcome stigma in handling of Korean nightclub outbreak
Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus.
Moderna Vaccine Sales May Top $5 Billion (7:12 a.m. NY)
Moderna Inc.’s experimental vaccine for Covid-19 could generate sales of more than $5 billion a year, Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said, initiating the stock at a buy.
Chinese Ports Jammed (7 a.m. NY)
Intensive testing of meat, seafood and other products for the coronavirus has tripled customs clearance times at some major Chinese ports, raising concerns the delays could ensnare global trade flows.
Pfizer, BioNTech Vaccine Candidates Fast-Tracked (6:54 a.m. NY)
Two of Pfizer and BioNTech’s four investigational mRNA-based vaccine candidates received fast track designation from the FDA. The designation was granted based on preliminary data from phase 1/2 studies that are currently ongoing in the U.S. and Germany as well as animal studies. The companies said a large, global Phase 2b/3 study may begin as early as this month.
BioNTech shares rose 5% pre-market while Pfizer gained 1.6%.
Iran’s New Cases Slightly Below Average (6:09 a.m. NY)
Iran reported 2,349 new daily cases, a 0.9% increase that is slightly below the 1% average rise from the past week. There were 203 new deaths in the past 24 hours. The country has 259,652 infections and 13,032 fatalities.
Greece Allows Flights From Sweden (6 a.m. NY)
Greece will allow direct flights from Sweden from July 22, according to government spokesman Stelios Petsas. The country will also look into allowing direct flights from non-EU countries, such as the U.S., from end of July, depending on the situation in those countries and on condition travelers have a negative test for Covid-19 carried out within 72 hours before arrival.
Hong Kong Has Another Local Cases Record (5:37 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong reported 41 new local cases, another record high, as the resurgence of infection looks set to grow into the city’s biggest wave yet.
Government officials said 21 cases were related to previous clusters while 20 were of unknown origins. The consistently significant proportion of cases with unknown origins suggests that hidden chains of transmission have been circulating for some time as the population returned to work and social activities.
Further social distancing measures are expected to be announced. Events including Hong Kong’s week-long book fair and the champion awards dinner by the Jockey Club have been canceled, in a sobering reminder that the pandemic is far from over
Netanyahu Ally Calls for Lockdown (4:24 p.m. HK)
Israel Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, a political ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for an immediate lockdown of 10 to 15 days to halt a second outbreak. A strict lockdown had brought down the number of daily new cases to low double digits, but a flawed reopening sent that number as high as 1,500 earlier this month. In all, close to 39,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the country, including more than 360 fatalities.
Tokyo New Cases Slow (3:33 p.m. HK)
Tokyo reported 119 coronavirus cases on Monday, its first reading below 200 in five days, which may ease concerns that the virus is spreading beyond nightclubs and known hotspot areas. New outbreak clusters tied to a childcare center and a theater house were reported in the Japanese capital over the weekend.
Millionaires Want Higher Taxes (3:17 p.m. HK)
A group of more than 80 wealthy individuals from the U.S. and six other countries — including Walt Disney Co. heiress Abigail Disney, former BlackRock Inc. managing director Morris Pearl, and Danish-Iranian entrepreneur Djaffar Shalchi — are petitioning for higher taxes on the rich to help pay for the billions in new government programs made necessary by the pandemic.
In an open letter, the Millionaires for Humanity warn that the outbreak could push millions more people into poverty and strain already inadequate health-care systems, staffed largely by underpaid women.
France Primes Fresh Stimulus (2:52 p.m. HK)
France will unveil “massive” support for youth employment this week and a new broad stimulus plan including tax cuts for companies at the end of August, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.
The measures will be in addition to emergency aid to protect jobs and companies during the lockdown and a series of support plans for sectors including tourism and auto and aircraft manufacturing.
Germany Infection Rate Above Key Threshold (1:24 p.m. HK)
Germany infection rate was above the key threshold of 1.0 for the first time in almost three weeks, rising to 1.04 on Sunday from 0.93 the day before, according to the latest estimate from the Robert Koch Institute. The country had 210 new cases in the 24 hours through Monday morning, compared with 377 the previous day and almost 7,000 at the peak of the pandemic in late March.
CanSino Jumps on Report of Vaccine Trials (1:07 p.m. HK)
CanSino Biologics shares rose 11%, set for a record high, after Reuters reported that the company is in talks with Russia, Brazil, Chile and Saudi Arabia to start a phase III trial of its vaccine candidate.
Singapore to Tackle Virus, Other Challenges (12:17 p.m. HK)
Singapore can return to tackling Covid-19 and “other urgent challenges” with the general election over, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post. The country’s cinemas are reopening Monday as part of a plan to ease restrictions.
Singapore’s missteps in handling the virus likely contributed to the ruling party’s reduced majority. The city-state is still recording more than 100 new cases of the coronavirus a day, with its overall tally at almost 46,000 infections, the second-highest in Southeast Asia.
Philippines Deaths Rise by Record (10:59 a.m. HK)
The Philippines recorded 162 new deaths, its highest daily increase, most of which occurred in June and only confirmed by the Department of Health on Sunday. New infections stood at 2,124 to bring the total to 56,259.
In Indonesia, President Joko Widodo wants to expand coronavirus testing capacity in eight provinces including Jakarta to bring nationwide number to 30,000 per day from a previous target of 20,000.
Australia’s Effective Jobless Rate (10:07 a.m HK)
Australia’s effective unemployment rate, which includes people who have opted against searching for work, is about 13.3%, compared with the official rate of 7.1%, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.
Mexico Overtakes Italy (8:59 a.m. HK)
Mexico overtook Italy as the country with the fourth-most Covid-19 deaths, reporting 4,482 new cases and 276 deaths on Sunday. The case count rose to 299,750 and the number of deaths to 35,006, according to data released by the Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, Argentina has more than 100,000 confirmed cases. The Latin American country added 2,657 cases on Sunday, pushing its total to 100,166.
Ontario Outlines Next Reopening Stage (8:35 a.m. HK)
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is set to announce details of the province’s next stage of reopening on Monday as officials determined the outbreak is under control. The province is currently in stage two, allowing shopping malls to open and restaurants and bars to serve patrons outdoors.
NYC Deaths Halt After Four Months (6:53 p.m. NY)
New York City reported its first day with zero confirmed or probable virus deaths on Sunday, according to initial data from the city’s health department.
It’s the end of a four-month stretch since the city reported its first death on March 11. Confirmed deaths reached a peak of 597 on April 7, with an additional 216 suspected coronavirus-linked fatalities that day. New York City has reported a cumulative 18,670 confirmed and 4,613 probable Covid-19 deaths.
Brazil Cases Approach 1.9 Million (5:25 p.m. NY)
Brazil, which lags only the U.S. in the number of confirmed infections and deaths, recorded 24,831 new cases, pushing the total to 1,864,681, according to the Health Ministry. Deaths increased by 631 to 72,100. While both counts were the lowest in five days, reported numbers show a pattern of being lower on Sundays.
U.S. Cases Rise Less Than 7-Day Average (4:00 p.m. NY)
U.S. coronavirus cases rose by 55,688 Sunday compared with the same time Saturday to 3.27 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The 1.7% gain was smaller than the national average daily increase of 1.9% over the past week. Deaths rose 0.4% from Saturday to 134,904.
Florida added a record 15,300 new virus cases. The 6% daily rise compared to an average increase of 4.8% over the last week. The state reported a drop in deaths, to 44 from 95 the day before.Texas posted 8,196 new cases, a 3.3% increase that was below the seven-day average of 3.9%. The number of deaths rose by 80 to 3,192, the Department of State Health Services said on its website.South Carolina reported 1,952 new cases, a drop from the record 2,239 posted the day before, for a total of 56,485, the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control said on its website.Deaths in Arizona rose for a third day to 86, while the increase in new cases slowed to 2.1% from the weekly average rise of 3.4%. The state reported 2,537 new cases, for a total of 122,467. Total deaths are 2,237.California added 8,460 new cases, a 2.7% increase that was below the 3% seven-day average. There have been 320,804 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state. The number of deaths climbed by 72, or 1%, to 7,017.New York reported 677 new cases, a 0.2% rise in line with the seven-day average of daily cases.New Jersey posted 349 more virus cases, a 0.2% rise in line with the average increase over the last week. The state now has a total of 175,298 infections. Another 16 people died, for a total of 13,594 fatalities.
South Africa Imposes Curfew, Alcohol Curbs (2:30 p.m. NY)
President Cyril Ramaphosa castigated South Africans for violating rules to curb the spread of Covid-19 and announced restrictions, including a renewed ban on alcohol sales to halt “drinking sprees” and an overnight curfew starting Monday. Infections climbed to 276,242, with case numbers increasing by more than 12,000 per day. At least 4,079 people have died of the coronavirus in the country, a quarter of them in the past week. The government expects the disease to peak by the end of September and intensive-care units in all nine provinces to run out of beds.
Gove Questions Masks in U.K. Shops (10:35 a.m. NY)
U.K. Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said the government shouldn’t make face masks compulsory in English shops — but added that it was “good manners” to wear one.
On Saturday, the Times reported that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to tell Parliament this week it will be compulsory for Britons to wear face coverings in shops, soon after telling the country that it was only optional do so. Johnson’s administration has come in for steady criticism for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives of about 45,000 people in the U.K. — the highest toll in Europe.
The U.K. had 650 new cases on Sunday, in line with the average 0.2% increase in the previous seven days, bringing the total to 289,603.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com” data-reactid=”90″>For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.” data-reactid=”91″>Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Add Comment