Austria to Test Everyone; EU Official Quarantined: Virus Update
Cases Spike Across U.S. in Test for State Leaders: Virus Update
(Bloomberg) --
Austria plans to take a cue from neighboring Slovakia’s mass-testing of the entire population in December, its chancellor said.
Germany will have to live with “considerable restrictions” against the spread of the coronavirus for at least the next four to five months, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said. European Union antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager is in quarantine, while Greece banned public gatherings of four or more people during its annual mid-November festivities.
States across the U.S. are tightening rules to stem Covid-19. California reported the most cases since August, a day after joining Oregon and Washington in an appeal for arriving travelers to quarantine. Elon Musk said he “most likely” has a moderate case of Covid-19.
Key Developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases top 54 million; deaths 1.3 million
- Covid’s rampage means no medical cavalry coming to the rescue
- Trump calls for “big and focused’ virus relief bill
- The death toll from the latest spate of U.S. cases is poised to get worse
- Bloomberg is mapping coronavirus cases across the U.S.
- NYC’s private schools brace for lockdown with Covid rate spike
- Vaccine Tracker: Encouraging breakthroughs offer hope
Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on coronavirus cases and deaths.
Austria Plans Slovakia-Style Mass Testing (6:30 a.m. NY)
Austria plans to take a cue from neighboring Slovakia’s mass-testing of the entire population in December, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said in an interview. One period for such tests would be before the new lockdown ends on Dec. 6, and another one just before the Christmas holiday. Kurz said details of the plan could be presented next week. One group that could be targeted first are teachers, he said.
Iran’s New Caseload Sets Fifth Record This Month (6:44 p.m. HK)
Iran reported a record 12,543 new cases, up 12% in a day and its fifth record set in November. The death toll increased by 459 in the past 24 hours, up from 452 a day earlier. The country now has 762,068 known infections and 41,493 fatalities.
EU Commissioner Vestager in Quarantine (6:37 p.m. HK)
Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s antitrust commissioner, said she’s been told that a “working relation” tested positive for coronavirus, according to a post on her Twitter account. Vestager has herself been tested, is in quarantine and will work from home in the coming week, she said in the post.
Kuala Lumpur Leads Malaysian Infections (6:32 p.m. HK)
Malaysia recorded an 8.4% increase in new cases to 1,208. The capital city of Kuala Lumpur topped the list with 469 infections, overtaking the top post from Sabah state. There were three new deaths. Malaysia has been struggling to contain a new wave of cases that emerged in late September. The government has recently tightened movement controls in all almost the states in the country. New cases have topped 1,000 since Friday.
Serbian Religious Leader Has Heart Problems (6:30 p.m. HK)
The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, was exhibiting heart problems during treatment in a hospital in Belgrade. Irinej, 90, was hospitalized with a Covid-19 infection on Nov. 5. Irinej and one of his bishops tested positive for coronavirus after holding a service for another top cleric whose funeral in neighboring Montenegro drew large crowds despite health warnings.
Greece Limits Gatherings Before Annual Celebration (6:20 p.m. HK)
Greek police said public gatherings of four or more people are banned until Wednesday at 9 p.m. due to the Covid-19 pandemic, severely limiting the annual festivities at this time to commemorate the anti-military junta demonstrations of 1973. Two parliamentary groups, the Greek Communist Party and MeRA25, opposed the restriction.
Hong Kong Sees Re-Emergence of Cases (4:48 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong reported five new locally transmitted coronavirus cases Sunday, one of which was from an unknown origin. It also saw nine more imported cases. “As the virus is showing signs of re-emerging in Hong Kong, social distancing measures have been tightened again,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan wrote in his blog. “If the situation persists, it will put pressure on the economy again.”
The Hong Kong government announced that it will step up social-distancing restrictions and introduce mandatory testing for some groups after locally transmitted Covid-19 cases rose in the past week.
Russia Posts Its Second-Highest Tally of Cases (4:21 p.m. HK)
Russia reported its second-highest total of new daily Covid-19 infections, 22,572. Those in Moscow, the pandemic’s epicenter in Russia, held above 6,000 for a second day. At 1.9 million, Russia has the fifth-highest caseload worldwide.
Belgium Reduces Hospitalizations, Intensive Care Beds (4 p.m. HK)
Hospitalizations dropped by 258 to 6,504 on Sunday in Belgium. That’s down from a peak of 7,489 on Nov. 3 and comes two weeks after the country imposed a lockdown to avert a health-care system collapse. The number of people in intensive care fell to 1,423, down 34. The 14-day virus incidence rate has now dropped to 969 per 100,000. The country reported 197 more deaths, bringing the total to 14,303.
Germany Says Months of ‘Considerable Restrictions’ Ahead (3:05 p.m. HK)
Germany will have to live with “considerable restrictions” against the spread of the coronavirus for at least the next four to five months, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told Bild am Sonntag newspaper in an interview. The number of infections was still far too high and he currently saw “little leeway” for opening restaurants and cinemas.
Germany can’t afford a “yo-yo shutdown” with the economy constantly opening and closing, the minister, a close confidant of Chancellor Angela Merkel, told the newspaper.
U.S. Surpasses 100,000 Cases Again (1:42 p.m. HK)
The U.S. added 160,788 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, the 10th consecutive day with more than 100,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.
A record 190,059 cases were counted on Friday.
China City Says Virus Found on Some Frozen Food (1:21 p.m. HK)
Authorities in the Chinese city of Jinan said Saturday that the novel coronavirus had been found on frozen beef and tripe from Brazil, Bolivia and New Zealand -- and on the products’ packaging. China has vowed to disinfect all overseas shipments of cold-chain products to try and avoid any potential transmission of the virus.
China’s U.K. Embassy Won’t Accept NHS Covid-19 Reports (12:52 p.m. HK)
China’s state-backed Global Times said in a tweet that the Chinese Embassy to the U.K. had stopped accepting Covid-19 test reports from the NHS starting Saturday, after some people holding the reports tested positive for the virus after arrival. The tweet cited a notice from the embassy.
Washington State to Announce New Measures (10:01 a.m. HK)
Washington Governor Jay Inslee is expected to announce a ban on indoor social gatherings and indoor restaurant dining Sunday morning, the Seattle Times reported, citing industry officials who were briefed on the new restrictions.
The governor’s orders, aimed at combating a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in the state, will also include a ban on indoor bar service and would limit the number retail customers allowed in a store at one time, including at groceries and convenience stores, to 25% of occupancy. The order is expected to extend for four weeks, the Times said.
Mexico Cases Cross 1 Million (9:46 a.m. HK)
Mexico’s cases crossed the 1 million mark, and the country recorded 5,860 new infections. Mexico becomes the fourth Latin American nation -- after Brazil, Argentina and Colombia -- to reach that milestone.
Brazil recorded the most weekly cases since early September, according to data on the Health Ministry’s website Saturday. Almost 259,000 infections were confirmed during the latest week, bringing the total to 5.85 million. Deaths increased by 4,552, the most in six weeks.
Pfizer Success May Boost Acceptance: Fauci (8:50 a.m. HK)
The success of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine trial could encourage more people to get inoculated, said top U.S. infectious disease doctor Anthony Fauci. The vaccine, developed in collaboration with Germany’s BioNTech SE, has “an extraordinarily high degree of efficacy -- more than 90%, close to 95%,” Fauci said in an interview.
South Korea’s Daily Stats Rise to 2-Month High (8:50 a.m. HK)
South Korea recorded 208 new coronavirus cases for the last 24 hours on Sunday, the country’s biggest daily gain since Sept. 1. The tally includes 176 local infections, with 81 new cases in Seoul. South Korea is among the countries battling new infections, after it had initial success containing Covid-19.
Musk Says He ‘Most Likely’ Has the Virus (8 a.m. HK)
Billionaire Elon Musk tweeted that he “most likely” has a moderate case of the coronavirus, saying his symptoms were “that of a minor cold.” But the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. continued to cast doubt on testing accuracy, citing “wildly different results from different labs.”
He didn’t mention any results from a PCR test -- more accurate than rapid tests.
Missouri Hits Record After Plea for Stricter Rules (7:21 a.m. HK)
Missouri reported a record 6,346 cases, a day after health officials urged Governor Mike Parson to impose stricter measures to curb the virus. “We have to do that or we’re going to have a real crisis on our hands,” Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, was quoted as saying by the Kansas City Star.
The Republican governor, who has resisted a statewide mask requirement, relaxed quarantine guidelines for students and educators on Thursday. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said on Friday he expected to tighten rules on restaurants and gatherings.
Germany Tries War Imagery in Lockdown Ad (5:25 p.m. NY)
Germany’s government is promoting compliance with lockdown rules in a video that likens people who stay home on their couch to war heroes.
The dramatization shows an older man reminiscing about “the winter of 2020” when, as a young man, he would have been socializing and enjoying life. Instead, the “invisible threat” of the virus meant “the country’s fate was suddenly in our hands.”
The video segues to the narrator as a young man, lying inertly on a sofa holding a TV remote. “Our couch was our front and patience was our weapon,” he says. “And thus we became heroes.”
California Cases Hit 3-Month High (2:50 p.m. NY)
California added 9,875 cases, the biggest one-day increase since August, and reported 81 new deaths, bringing the total to 18,218.
Cases in the state exceeded 1 million this week. The 14-day test positivity rate rose to 4.2%, a two-month high.
Los Angeles County reported 3,780 confirmed new cases, the most since mid-July for a day that didn’t include a backlog of cases, according to the county health department. The elevated cases reflect increased testing, though the positivity rate “remains high at almost 6%,” the agency said in a statement.
Virginia Expands Restrictions (3:29 p.m. NY)
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced new restrictions as infections surged to record levels. Starting Sunday, the state will expand its mask mandate, lower its cap on gatherings to 25 individuals from 250, strengthen enforcement for distancing and other rules at retail businesses, and set a 10 p.m. alcohol service curfew for restaurants and bars.
The seven-day average for new infections among the state’s 8.5 million residents rose by a record 1,546 on Thursday. Total confirmed cases breached 200,000 on Saturday.
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