(Bloomberg) —
U.S. cases rose 1.8% in the past 24 hours, just above the one-week average. Italy’s plan to speed the end a two-month lockdown is a “calculated risk,” the prime minister said, as businesses reopen next week.
Horses and cars will be back at New York’s race tracks on June 1 — without fans. New Jersey resumes fishing charters and water-sports rentals starting Sunday.
Utah and California lenders got the most money from the Federal Reserve to provide payroll-relief loans for small businesses. The FDA authorized the first at-home nasal-sample collection kit.
Key Developments:
Virus Tracker: Cases top 4.6 million; deaths exceed 310,000Meat-plant communities experience faster virus spreadChina faces angry world seeking answers at key WHO meetingBroken ventilators spark push to end limits on repairsPost-pandemic homecoming to aid African airlines’ reboundEurope’s broken tourism industry struggles to save summerBrazil soccer is another field of virus conflict for Bolsonaro
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. See this week’s top stories from QuickTake here.
Fed Shares Data on Payroll Loans (4:35 p.m. NY)
The Federal Reserve had $40.6 billion in U.S. Paycheck Protection Program loans on its balance sheet, according to a spreadsheet that showed more than 3,000 individual advances by regional Fed banks to U.S. lenders providing the aid to small businesses.
A state breakdown shows that as of May 6, the most recent date for which loan details were provided, lenders in Utah and California received the most money, about $2.96 billion each. New Jersey had $2.5 billion and Wisconsin $1.75 billion. New York, the nation’s fourth most populous state, got just $804 million.
U.S. Cases Rise 1.8%, Above Week’s Average (4 p.m. NY)
U.S. cases increased 1.8% from the same time Friday, to 1.46 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The rise in cases was above the average daily increase of 1.7% over the past week. Deaths rose 1.7% to 88,211.
New York reported 2,419 new cases, a number that has remained stable for two weeks, raising the total to 348,232. The state had 157 new deaths, up from 132 on Friday, with total fatalities at more than 22,478.New Jersey had 1,239 new cases, for a total of 145,089, while 115 deaths were added for a total to 10,249, Governor Phil Murphy said.California added 1,857 cases, for a total of 76,793, and reported 96 new deaths, bringing the total to 3,204.Pennsylvania had 989 new cases, bringing the total to 61,611. Deaths rose by 61, to a total of 4,403, with 69% of the fatalities at nursing homes, the health department said.Michigan had 425 new cases, for a total of 50,504, with 55 new deaths, raising the total to 4,880, the state said on its website.Ohio reported 520 new cases, the third straight day of decline, bringing the total to 27,474, and added 29 deaths, for a total of 1,610, the health department said.
N.J. Fishing Charters Resume (3:40 p.m. NY)
New Jersey will resume fishing charters and other watercraft rentals on Sunday but require specific, strict social distances measures and maintenance of passenger logs for potential contact tracing, Governor Phil Murphy said.
Loosening rules on fishing and rentals is part of Murphy’s “deliberate incremental steps” to bring the state’s economy back from a shelter-in-place order. A patch work of activities are now permitted in the Garden State: golf, for example, but not tennis.
Most medical indicators across the state’s northern, central and southern regions are “moving in the right directions,” he said.
South Africa Posts Biggest Rise in Cases (3:30 p.m. NY)
South Africa reported 831 new infections on Saturday, its biggest daily increase, bringing the total to 14,355. Western Cape, home to the city of Cape Town, now has more than half of the cases nationwide and together with the Eastern Cape contributed 91% of new infections, according to the Health Ministry.
Western Cape authorities attributed the surge to rigorous testing, even as the province is facing clusters of infections in households, workplaces and supermarkets. About 18,000 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours. Deaths climbed by 14 to 261.
Conte Calls Reopening ‘Calculated Risk’ (3 p.m. NY)
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Italy is taking an unavoidable “calculated risk” as it prepares to further ease a two-month lockdown on Monday by opening businesses and granting citizens more freedom.
Conte forged an agreement with regional governors to pave the way for relaxing rules that have crippled the euro area’s third-biggest economy. “We are taking a calculated risk, aware that the contagion curve could rise again,” Conte told reporters at his Rome residence.Businesses including shops, bars, restaurants and barbers can open on a regional basis, and Italians will be able to move within their own region from Monday. Italy will unlock its borders and allow citizens to move across the country starting June 3.
Ford to Test Some Workers (2:55 p.m. NY)
Ford Motor Co. secured contracts with health systems for rapid testing of hourly and salaried employees with suspected Covid-19 symptoms in southeast Michigan and the metropolitan areas of Louisville, Kentucky; Kansas City and Chicago. Ford said it plans to expand testing to additional locations.
Daily Global Cases Top 100,000 (2:15 p.m. NY)
The increase in daily cases has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. New cases climbed by 100,200 on Friday, the fourth straight day of gains, according to the data.
Daily case increases were 97,500 on Thursday and 85,200 a day earlier. The previous one-day high was 99,100 on April 12.
Russia Projects 75% Drop in Flights (1:30 p.m. NY)
Russia expects airline flights to fall 50-75% this year and rail cargo volumes to drop by 11% as a result of the pandemic, Interfax newswire reported citing country’s transport minister Yevgeny Ditrikh. Russia has the second-most infections after the U.S. at 272,043.
Italy Has Fewest Deaths in 10 Weeks (12:30 p.m. NY)
Italy reported the fewest deaths in almost 10 weeks on Saturday, with 153. Total deaths now stand at 31,763. New cases rose by 789 on Friday, to a total of 224,760.
N.Y. Tracks to Reopen, Without Fans (11:45 a.m. NY)
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said state-run horse tracks and the Watkins Glen International track will reopen on June 1, but without people watching from the stands.
Nascar stages a competition at Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes region in mid-August and state officials said races can be run as long as the staff follow safety guidelines.
“It’s a lot of reward for minimal risk,” Cuomo said at his daily briefing. “We can open Watkins Glen, that is in our control.”
The state reported 157 new deaths, the sixth straight day the figure was below 200, Cuomo said.
Pence Heads to Florida (11:30 a.m. NY)
Vice President Mike Pence will meet Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in Orlando on Wednesday to discuss the state’s phased economic reopening, his office said Saturday. Pence will deliver personal protective equipment to a nursing home and join hospitality and tourism industry leaders to discuss their plans for reopening.
Austria Sends Army to Postal Center (11:10 a.m. NY)
Austria’s army will start a support mission at an Oesterreichische Post mail distribution center that has seen an outbreak of new infections over the last few days — the nation’s second postal facility with cases. About 280 soldiers and civilians will replace the staff for two weeks, the defense ministry said in a statement.
Workers from a temporary employment agency are the cause of the outbreak, according to Austrian daily Kronen-Zeitung. At the two sites, 138 have tested positive, the paper said. A spokesman for the mail operator said about 30% of staff are reported to be sick, but declined to comment on the number of positive tests.
The outbreak is a setback for Austria, among the first European nations to ease lockdown measures a month ago. The distribution centers didn’t close.
FDA Authorizes At-Home Test (10:20 a.m. NY)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Everlywell Inc.’s at-home nasal sample collection kit for use with specific laboratories for Covid-19 diagnostic testing.
Once patients self-swab, they ship the sample to a lab that is running an in-vitro diagnostic test, the agency said. The FDA said Everlywell’s emergency use authorization covers individuals at home who have been screened by an online questionnaire that’s been reviewed by a health-care provider. The FDA also authorized two Covid-19 diagnostic tests that are performed at specific labs.
Hospital Ship Treated 77 L.A. Patients (10:30 a.m. NY)
The U.S. Navy hospital ship Mercy treated 77 patients while docked for seven weeks at the Port of Los Angeles — where it was tasked with caring for non-Covid-19 cases — from basic medical and surgical care to trauma, the commander of the U.S. 3rd Fleet said. The team also performed 36 surgeries, 77 X-ray exams and 26 CT scans. The ship has 1,000 beds.
Scholz Wants Aid for German Cities (10:10 a.m. NY)
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is planning a 57 billion-euro ($62 billion) package to help municipalities being hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, a person familiar with the matter said.
The plan, which Scholz announced on Saturday without giving the size of the measures, would help local governments cover outstanding debt and tax shortfalls caused by the pandemic and assist the economic recovery, the person said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.
Trump Signals Partial WHO Funding (10 a.m. NY)
President Donald Trump said U.S. payments to the World Health Organization that he froze last month may return at 10% of the existing level. Trump said the cut is one of numerous options he’s considering. A cut to 10% would match “much lower China payments,” Trump said in a tweet responding to broadcaster Lou Dobbs. “Have not made final decision. All funds are frozen,” Trump said.
The president instructed his administration in mid-April to temporarily halt WHO funding because the United Nations agency took China’s claims about the coronavirus “at face value” and failed to share information about the pandemic as it spread. The U.S. has contributed $893 million to the WHO’s operations during its current two-year funding cycle.
U.K. Cases Increase (9:52 a.m. NY)
In the U.K., the number dead rose to 34,466 after another 468 fatalities were announced Saturday, compared with 384 a day earlier. The total number of cases topped 240,000.
Portugal Urges Shopping in Lisbon (8:56 a.m. NY)
“Stores are ready to welcome people,” Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said during a visit to one of the main shopping streets in downtown Lisbon. “We were very disciplined about staying at home to contain the pandemic. But now we have to take the next step. With the same determination we had to lock down, we now have to go out again and seek to resume normality in our life in a new way and with precautions.”
The second stage of Portugal’s plan to ease confinement measures starts on May 18, when restaurants will be allowed to reopen with capacity limited to 50%. Portugal reported 227 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, down from 264 on Friday, taking the total to 28,810. The total number of deaths rose by 13 to 1,203.
100 Days to Republican Convention (8:40 a.m. NY)
The Republican Party said it’s moving ahead with plans for the 2020 convention starting in Charlotte on Aug. 24.
“Our team has continued to take meaningful steps to demonstrate our commitment to ensuring the health and safety of convention participants,” Marcia Lee Kelly, president and CEO of the convention’s Committee on Arrangements, wrote in an opinion piece on Fox Business.
Zimbabwe Extends Lockdown Indefinitely (8:30 a.m. NY)
Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa extended the country’s coronavirus lockdown for an indefinite period, a day before the current restrictions were scheduled to end.
“We shall have regular two-week interval reviews to assess progress or lack of it,” he said Saturday on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.
The southern African nation had 42 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to data from the health ministry on Friday. The wearing of face masks in public places is mandatory and commercial activity for registered businesses is allowed.
Hungary to Ease Budapest Lockdown (8:19 a.m. NY)
Hungary will start the gradual easing of lockdown measures in Budapest from Monday, following similar steps announced for the countryside two weeks ago.
The country has successfully contained the spread of the coronavirus even in the more densely populated capital, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a Facebook video on Saturday. Further easing in Budapest will track the countryside with a two-week lag, where restaurants have already been allowed to reopen outdoor areas.
Kenya Shuts Border With Somalia, Tanzania (8:19 a.m. NY)
The move is meant to curb cross-border infections which totaled 43 this week, accounting for about a quarter of total new cases, President Uhuru Kenyatta said in televised address. All truck drivers entering Kenya will be required to undergo mandatory coronavirus testing, and will only be allowed into the country if they test negative, the president said.
A nationwide dusk-to-dawn curfew and a ban on movement into and out of the capital Nairobi and four other counties has been extended by a further 21 days to June 6. The country has 830 total cases.
Thailand Extends Flight Ban to June 30 (8:16 a.m. NY)
The ban on international commercial flights to Thailand that was supposed to end on May 31 will be extended for another month, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said.
Spain New Infections Slow (7:30 a.m. NY)
Spain recorded 102 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours from 138 deaths reported on Friday, according to data from the Health Ministry. New infections increased by 539 to 230,698, compared to 549 the previous day.
<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=”99″>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=”100″>Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Add Comment