U.S. Infections Up 1%; Record New Cases in Brazil: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Florida reported that new cases rose to the highest level since the pandemic began and Texas saw hospitalizations and new infections surge, more signs that the coronavirus outbreak is worsening in some U.S. states.

Beijing shut its schools on concern about new infections as China started testing all shipments of imported meat after a fresh outbreak was linked to a wholesale seafood and meat market in the capital. Brazil had a record number of daily new cases.

On a day when global cases surpassed 8 million, hope for an affordable virus therapy also appeared: A low-cost anti-inflammatory drug became the first treatment shown to improve survival in patients with Covid-19.

Key Developments:

• Virus Tracker: global cases surpass 8 million, deaths exceed 438,000
• Once a virus role model, Chile now among the world’s worst hit
• Acting fast is the key to beating a second wave
• England’s soccer Premier League returns on Wednesday
• Virus-ravaged supply chains of 2020 are the banks of 2008
• Trump’s Tulsa rally defies public health and protest concerns

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Brazil Reports Record Daily Infections (5:12 p.m. NY)

Brazil, which trails only the U.S. in cases and deaths, reported a record 34,918 new infections, bringing the total to 923,189. The data compiled by Brazilian states also showed 1,282 new fatalities, pushing the total toll to 45,241.

The pandemic shows no signs of easing in Latin America’s largest nation as cases that were concentrated in capitals and the Southeast have spread inland and to poorer regions. At the same time, several states and cities have started to lift quarantine orders in the past few weeks, sparking concern about a new wave of infections. Estimates from PUC University in Rio de Janeiro show cases will likely surpass 1.3 million by late June, with more than 60,000 deaths.

U.S. Cases Rise 1% (4 p.m. NY)

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased by 20,405 from the same time yesterday to 2.12 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The 1% increase was in line with the daily increase of 1.1% over the past seven days. Deaths rose 0.6% to 116,567.

• Florida reported 80,109 cases, up 3.6% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 2.5% in the previous seven days. Deaths reached 2,993, an increase of 1.9%.
• California’s cases climbed 1.4%, less than the seven-day average of a 2.1% increase, to 153,560. The 2,108 new cases marked the smallest daily gain in three weeks, according to state data. Deaths rose by 32 to 5,121.
• Texas registered 2,622 new cases, the most since the pandemic emerged, Governor Greg Abbott said during a media briefing.

Abbott Reassures Texas Residents as Cases Surge (2:45 p.m NY)

Texas registered 2,622 new cases, the most since the pandemic emerged, Governor Greg Abbott said during a media briefing in the state capital Austin. However, he said the data was skewed by “batch returns” of testing done in several counties over more than one day.

Abbott reassured residents of the second-most-populous state that hospital capacity for virus cases is ample but said he’s concerned that some bar patrons are putting themselves at risk by failing to observe social distancing. The governor’s remarks come almost seven weeks after he began a phased reopening of the state’s economy.

“We do not need to choose between returning to jobs and protecting healthc are,” Abbott said.

Earlier Tuesday, Texas reported an 8.3% rise in hospitalizations to a record 2,518, the biggest daily increase since June 4.

California Has Fewest New Cases in 3 Weeks (2:32 p.m. NY)

California’s confirmed virus cases climbed 1.4%, less than the seven-day average of a 2.1% increase, to a total of 153,560. The 2,108 new cases marked the smallest daily gain in three weeks, according to state data. Deaths rose by 32 to 5,121.

Hospitalizations jumped by 7.5%, while the number of intensive-care patients rose 1.5%. Still, the rate of positive tests over the past 14 days, which Governor Gavin Newsom has pointed to as a sign of the state’s stabilization, has held steady at around 4.4%.

Illinois Attorney General Tests Positive (2:05 p.m. NY)

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said he had tested positive for Covid-19 and that he has been self-isolating since the onset of his symptoms.

His symptoms continue to be mild and his office was in the process of notifying individuals he may have come into contact with, Raoul said in a statement.

New York Hospitalizations Hit New Low (12:57 p.m. NY)

Virus-related hospitalizations and deaths in New York continue to decline, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

There were 1,538 hospitalizations as of Monday, the lowest since the beginning of the outbreak, Cuomo said at a press briefing. The three-day average of daily fatalities also reached a low, at 24. The state has gone from the highest infection rate in the U.S. to the lowest, the governor said.

“The phased reopening is working,” Cuomo said. “Stay the course.”

The state recently completed an antibody test from May 1 to June 13 with 12,000 samples, Cuomo said. The tests showed that 13.4% of people tested positive for the antibodies, up a percentage point in that time, he said. New York City went from 19.9% to 21.6%, which he said is “not good” but “manageable.”

NYC Playgrounds Closed Until July (11:15 a.m. NY)

New York City playgrounds will remain closed into July, when social-distancing restrictions should ease as the city’s reopening enters a second phase, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Tracers have been monitoring more than 5,300 people who tested positive and their close contacts over the past two weeks, de Blasio said Tuesday. City health officials expect to monitor more than 250,000 New Yorkers this summer, with daily testing capacity increasing to about 50,000 in July from its current 20,000, with more than 150,000 in August, he said.

Of the thousands getting tested for the virus, 2% tested positive as of June 14, well below the 15% threshold that would cause the city to order renewed lockdown measures. Citywide suspected or confirmed Covid-19 hospital admissions totaled 52; the threshold is 200. Public hospital intensive-care units held 334 coronavirus patients, under the 375 threshold, de Blasio said.

Texas Hospitalizations Rise to Record (11 a.m. NY)

Texas recorded an 8.3% rise in hospitalizations to a record 2,518, the biggest daily increase since June 4, according to state health department data. In the Houston metropolitan area, there were 795 patients hospitalized and 247 intensive care units beds available.

Governor Greg Abbott scheduled a media briefing to discuss the state’s hospital capacity at 1 p.m Central time.

Beijing to Shut Schools Amid Resurgence (11 a.m. NY)

Beijing City has raised its Covid-19 emergency response to the second-highest level after coronavirus infection cases resurged, according to China Central Television, citing a briefing by the city’s government.

All schools will restore online courses, and college students will stop returning to campus, according to CCTV.

Florida’s New Cases Rise to Highest Level (10:50 a.m. NY)

Florida reported 80,109 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, up 3.6% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 2.5% in the previous seven days. Deaths among Florida residents reached 2,993, an increase of 1.9%.

Seen on a rolling seven-day basis, Florida’s new cases reached 14,109, the highest level ever. For most of May, the state had been reporting about 5,000 cases a week, but the numbers have been elevated since early June. New cases have now exceeded 1,000 a day in 13 of the last 14 days.

Governor Ron DeSantis has attributed the uptick to isolated outbreaks in agriculture communities and increased testing, although the latter explanation is contradicted by the rising positivity rate among test batches.

Cumulative hospitalizations rose by 191 to 12,206. On a rolling seven day-basis, they reached 1,021, the highest level since May 25.

In Miami-Dade, the state’s most populous county, local leaders including county Mayor Carlos Gimenez and City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said Monday that they have no plans to revert to lockdowns of their economies at this time. But they said the main metric that could trigger a re-evaluation of the reopening policy would be a concerning rise in hospitalizations.

U.S. Agency to Continue Hydroxychloroquine Trial (9:14 a.m. NY)

The U.S. National Institutes of Health will continue its clinical trial on the potential for hydroxychloroquine to treat patients hospitalized with Covid-19 despite regulators’ revoking the drug’s emergency authorization, the agency said in an email.

The NIH trial, called Orchid, began enrolling patients in April and is screening those who may be susceptible to erratic heart rhythms that are a risk associated with hydroxychloroquine. Data from a University of Oxford study led the Food and Drug Administration on Monday to determine hydroxychloroquine’s benefit no longer outweighed its cardiovascular risks.

A data and safety monitoring board will continue to monitor the trial, NIH said. The anti-malaria drug was touted by President Donald Trump as treatment for Covid-19.

British Airways Owner Said to Prepare Review (8:30 a.m. NY)

IAG SA, the parent of British Airways, is reviewing its strategy to help reposition the group as it emerges from the pandemic, people familiar with the matter said. The company is working with advisers and is examining options that could include debt or equity fundraising, the people said.

Low-Cost Drug Is First to Improve Survival (8:27 a.m. NY)

A low-cost anti-inflammatory drug is the first treatment shown to improve survival in patients with Covid-19, University of Oxford researchers said.

Deaths in patients who needed assistance to breathe were lower over a period of four weeks when they got an anti-inflammatory called dexamethasone than among those who received standard care, the researchers said Tuesday in an emailed statement. The study was stopped early because of the important preliminary results.

The U.K. government has 200,000 courses of the drug “ready to go,” the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg said in a tweet, citing an unidentified person in the government.

Denmark Looking at Reopening Borders to More Countries (7:29 a.m. NY)

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in parliament that the country now wants to open its borders to nations with “acceptable contagion numbers,” adding a workable model will be presented shortly. Denmark currently is primarily open to Germany, Norway and Iceland.

Sinopharm Vaccine Candidate Shows No Adverse Reactions (7:11 a.m. NY)

A Covid-19 vaccine candidate that is under development by Sinopharm’s Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co. has shown no serious adverse reactions during phase I/II clinical trials, according to a post on the company’s official Weibo page.

China Starts Intensive Testing of Imported Meat (7:04 a.m. NY)

China’s customs authorities started testing all shipments of imported meat for the coronavirus, while officials in some major cities are also checking the products at domestic markets, after a fresh outbreak of the pathogen was linked to a wholesale seafood and meat market in Beijing.

Port authorities are conducting nucleic acid tests on all shipments of imported meat, said a trading executive with a major supplier, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Customs officials have also started testing every consignment within shipments, instead of just taking some samples, he said.

TAP May Get 950 Million Euro State Loan (7:02 a.m. NY)

The Portuguese government estimates the loan it will provide to airline TAP SGPS SA will be of 950 million euros ($1.1 billion), Finance Minister Joao Leao said. That figure is the “central scenario” of the government’s forecast, Leao said at a parliamentary hearing in Lisbon on Tuesday.

Sanofi Invests $690 Million in French Vaccine Sites (7 a.m. NY)

Sanofi plans to invest about 610 million euros ($690 million) in two new vaccine production and research centers in France to boost the drugmaker’s capacity to fight pandemics.

The new centers will strengthen Sanofi’s ability to advance new vaccines and produce them on a massive scale, the Paris-based company said in a statement, citing a close collaboration with French authorities in the past few months.

Uganda Rules Out Election Rallies (6:06 a.m. NY)

Uganda banned political-party rallies before presidential elections in February to stem the spread of the virus. Instead, parties must use media-based campaigns to canvass support, Electoral Commission Chairman Simon Byabakama said Tuesday in a televised address from the capital, Kampala. The decision was made after consultations with the Health Ministry, he said.

Greggs, Cineworld Reopening Plans Give Relief to Shares (6:01 a.m. NY)

Greggs Plc will reopen around 800 U.K. shops to takeaway customers on Thursday, while Cineworld Group Plc plans to lift the shutters on cinemas across some territories during the last week of June, with all theaters set to be open in the course of July.

Greggs shares rose as much as 5.5% on Tuesday, the biggest gainer in the FTSE 350 Food & Drug Retailers Index, while Cineworld climbed as much as 11%, outpacing Europe’s Stoxx 600 Travel & Leisure Index. Even after Tuesday’s gains, the stocks are still down 25% and 62%, respectively, in the year to date.

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