U.S. Cases Rise 0.7%; Death Toll Exceeds 200,000: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. death toll from the novel coronavirus exceeded 200,000, a grim milestone that comes eight months after the pathogen was first confirmed on American soil.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will closely monitor people who get the first Covid-19 vaccines through daily text messages and emails, according to a federal advisory group. The agency also warned that hosts and attendees at holiday celebrations will need to take steps to limit risks.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new restrictions that are likely to last six months and told people to work from home if possible, saying the country is at a “perilous turning point” for the virus.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases top 31 million; deaths exceed 966,000
• Europe finds mass testing is no panacea for the coronavirus
• What investors with $3.4 trillion are buying during Covid
• London restaurants fear fresh blow as new lockdown looms
• European tourism pummeled as Whitbread cuts 6,000 jobs
• Saudi Arabia floats plan to delay G-20 summit until December
• Pfizer’s vaccine trial plan may beat rivals to early look

Tune in to a TOPLive Q&A with commercial real estate experts about the future of the office on Tuesday, starting at 3 p.m. London, 10 a.m. New York. 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.

Notre Dame Postpones Football Game (4:07 p.m. NY)

The University of Notre Dame postponed Saturday’s scheduled football game against Wake Forest after seven players tested positive for the coronavirus. A total of 13 players are in isolation, including 10 in quarantine, the university said in a statement reported by the New York Times. The game was to have been played in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

U.S. Cases Rise 0.7% (4 p.m. NY)

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased 0.7% as compared with the same time Monday to 6.88 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The increase was in line with the average daily gain of 0.6% over the past week. Deaths rose by 0.3% to 200,284.

• Arizona announced 595 new cases. The 0.3% increase to 214,846 cases was below the prior seven-day average of 0.4%. The state recorded 20 new Covid-19 deaths, bringing the toll to 5,498.
• Florida reported 687,909 cases, up 0.4% from a day earlier. Deaths reached 13,416, an increase of 0.7%, or 99.
• Texas experienced a 3.1% increase in the number of cases from the same time Monday, bringing the total to 735,290, according to the data from Johns Hopkins and Bloomberg News.

California Daily Cases, Positivity Rate Down (2:36 p.m. NY)

California reported 2,630 new virus cases, a 0.3% increase and less than the 14-day average of 3,315. There were 53 new deaths, bringing the total to 15,071. The average test positivity rate over the past two weeks fell to a new low of 3%.

Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday touted the state’s progress in battling the outbreak, saying “real progress” has been made in its case counts, which averaged almost 8,000 a day a month ago. On a seven-day basis, the positivity rate has reached 2.8%, he said, even as testing has increased following recent delays due to wildfires.

France Has 10,000 New Cases (2:35 p.m. NY)

France reported 10,008 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, in line with the pace of infections picking up again, after a post-weekend lull on Monday. Confirmed cases rose by 10,008 in 24 hours, France’s public health agency said. The seven-day rolling average of new infections, which smooths out reporting spikes, stood at about 10,500, after climbing above 10,000 for the first time on Sunday.

Smartphone Tracking Planned for First Vaccine (1:45 p.m. NY)

Americans who get the first Covid-19 vaccines will be closely monitored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through daily text messages and emails, according to a federal advisory group.

Essential workers who are expected to be the first recipients will get daily text messages on their smartphones asking about side effects in the first week after they get the shot, and then they’ll be contacted weekly for six weeks, said Tom Shimabukuro, a CDC immunization expert, at a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Those workers could total about 20 million people, he said.

Arizona Sees Uptick in Cases (1:20 p.m. NY)

Arizona on Tuesday announced 595 new virus cases, reversing three days of daily declines. The 0.3% increase to 214,846 cases was still below the prior seven-day average of 0.4%. The state Department of Health Services recorded 20 new Covid-19 deaths, bringing the toll to 5,498.

CDC Recommends Changes to Holiday Celebrations (11:50 a.m. NY)

New guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the upcoming holiday season warns that hosts and attendees at holiday celebrations will need to take steps to limit the risk of contracting and spreading the novel coronavirus.

Virtual gatherings or those that involve one’s immediate household are low risk, the agency said in a posting Monday. If people do gather in person for Christmas and other holidays, the CDC recommends doing so outdoors and keeping groups small.

Florida Positivity Rate Jumps (11:20 a.m. NY)

Florida reported 687,909 Covid-19 cases Tuesday, up 0.4% from a day earlier, in line with the average increase in the previous seven days, according to the health department report, which includes data through Monday.

But the new daily rate of people testing positive for the first time jumped to 5.9% for Monday, from 4.3% on Sunday, putting it at the highest level since Sept. 8. Prior to this report, the rate had been under 5% for 10 consecutive days, the longest such streak since the end of May.

Deaths among Florida residents reached 13,416, an increase of 0.7%, or 99. Deaths often trail infections by weeks, and generally take even longer to be reflected in the data.

UBS CEO: It’s Hard to Sustain Culture Working at Home (9:41 a.m. NY)

UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti added his voice to a chorus of finance executives concerned about having so many employees working remotely. It’s especially difficult for banks to create and sustain cohesiveness and a culture when employees stay at home, he said at a Bank of America conference on Tuesday. A rate of 85% of people working remotely is “not sustainable” for banks and a normal level for UBS should be about 20% to 30% at any time.

Airlines Plead for Mandatory Tests to Lift Flagging Demand (9:36 a.m. NY)

Universal coronavirus tests for departing passengers offer the only realistic hope of reviving demand for flights in the absence of a vaccine, the International Air Transport Association said. The 100% adoption of rapid antigen tests, which should be available next month, would remove any need for quarantines that are currently “killing” the market, IATA chief Alexandre de Juniac said on a media call Tuesday.

Dutch Cases Surge; PM Faces Parliament (8:24 a.m. NY)

The number of newly confirmed coronavirus patients jumped by 13,471 in the past week, a 63% increase, with hospital admissions climbing, according to Dutch health agency RIVM. In the last two days, the daily tally exceeded 2,000 for the first time. Later on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge will face questions from members of Parliament on whether recently announced regional measures, including closing bars by 1 a.m., are sufficient.

Imperial Cites ‘Promising’ Trial Results (8:11 a.m. NY)

Imperial College London plans to expand its Covid-19 vaccine trial to 20,000 people by year-end from 400 currently, according to a professor there who is leading development of a shot.

“So far, human volunteers seem to be responding well to our vaccine, but it will only be rolled out further if we are certain that it is both safe and effective,” Robin Shattock told a European Parliament hearing on Tuesday. “If trials continue to show promising results, our international trials will commence later this year, with potential approval by mid-2021.”

U.K.’s Johnson Imposes Restrictions (7:47 a.m. NY)

Boris Johnson told Britons to work from home when possible and ordered pubs and restaurants to close early as he sought to stamp out a resurgence of coronavirus in the weeks ahead.

Under the new measures for England, which are likely to last six months, face coverings will become mandatory for passengers traveling in taxis and workers in the hospitality and retail sectors, with tougher fines for people failing to wear masks. Similar steps are being taken in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in England and Wales rose for the first time since April, increasing 27% to 99 in the seven days through Sept. 11 from a week earlier, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Death registrations may have been lower in the previous week due to the bank holiday, the government agency said.

Iran Has Record Jump in Cases (6:59 a.m. NY)

Iran recorded its biggest spike in daily cases since the pandemic began, with 3,712 new infections, surpassing 3,574 cases reported on June 4, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on state TV. The death toll rose by 178 overnight, almost unchanged from 177 a day earlier.

WHO Sticks to 14-Day Quarantine Guidance (6 a.m. NY)

The World Health Organization is maintaining its guidance that people newly diagnosed with Covid-19 should isolate for 14 days, Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman, said at a briefing in Geneva. France recently reduced such restrictions to seven days. While the average incubation period is five to six days, it may last as long as 12, Harris said.

The WHO also recommends that people keep at least one meter (3.3 feet) apart from each other, and the more distance the better. Distance and time duration are key factors in transmission, Harris said.

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With assistance from Bloomberg