U.S. Cases Up 0.5%; Brazil Chief Justice Infected: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

U.S. President Donald Trump defended holding an indoor campaign rally in Nevada on Sunday in defiance of regulations barring large gatherings. California’s rate of infections fell to a new low.

Global coronavirus cases surpassed 29 million as India, the epicenter of the pandemic, reported more than 90,000 for a fifth straight day. Countries ranging from Iran to the Czech Republic are reporting a rise in new cases.

Israel’s cabinet backed a second national lockdown, while gatherings in the U.K. will be restricted as new cases climb at a pace not seen since May.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases pass 29.1 million; deaths exceed 925,000
• A cure for Covid? Your body is still the best virus killer
• Pandemic may permanently replace some human jobs with machines
• At JPMorgan, productivity falls for staff working at home
• The keys to speed in race for vaccine, and its perils: QuickTake

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.

Astra Trial on Hold Pending U.S. Scrutiny: Reuters (4:30 p.m. NY)

AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine trial remains on hold in the U.S. as regulators examine a serious side effect suffered by a U.K. patient, Reuters reported.

The drugmaker and its partner, the University of Oxford, restarted the U.K. trial of the vaccine on Saturday after it was halted on Sept. 6. The U.K. Medicines Health Regulatory Authority recommended the study resume after an independent review of the safety data had triggered the pause.

However, enrollment of new study participants and other trial procedures remain stopped in the U.S. pending an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration and an independent safety panel, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.

AstraZeneca and the FDA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Brazil’s Chief Justice Tests Positive (4:20 p.m. NY)

Brazil’s chief justice has tested positive for Covid-19, less than a week after taking the top position on the country’s Supreme Court.

Luiz Fux will be isolated at home for 10 days, during which he “intends to conduct the session of the virtual plenary on Wednesday,” his press office said in a statement Monday. He may have contracted the virus at a family lunch, according to the statement.

U.S. Cases Rise 0.5% (4 p.m. NY)

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased 0.5% as compared with the same time Sunday to 6.54 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The increase matched the average daily gain over the past week. Deaths rose by 0.2% to 194,339.

• Florida reported 665,730 cases, up 0.3% from a day earlier, compared with an average 0.4% increase in the previous seven days. Deaths reached 12,642, an increase of 0.3%, or 34.
• Missouri experienced a 2.7% increase in the number of cases from the same time yesterday, bringing the total to 105,262, according to the data from Johns Hopkins and Bloomberg News.
• Arizona reported 213 new virus cases, a 0.1% increase to 208,725 that fell below the 0.2% increase of the prior seven-day period. The state Department of Health Services recorded zero new Covid-19 deaths, keeping the toll at 5,322.

California Infection Rate Hits New Low (3:40 p.m. NY)

California reported 2,855 new virus cases, less than the 14-day average of 3,835, extending a trend of improvement. There were 56 new virus deaths, bringing its total to 14,385. The average rate of positive tests over the past 14 days reached a new low of 3.7%. Hospitalizations from Covid-19 dropped 1% and are now at the lowest since April.

Bordeaux Adds More Restrictions (2:05 p.m. NY)

France reported more than 6,000 new coronavirus cases on Monday, down from the previous day’s figure, as Bordeaux became the latest city to announce additional measures to control the pandemic.

Laboratory-confirmed cases rose by 6,158 to 387,252 in the past 24 hours, health authorities said on their website. That compares with 7,183 a day earlier and Saturday’s post-lockdown high of over 10,000 infections.

On Monday, Bordeaux said it will take further steps to prevent the disease from spreading. The limit for outdoor public gatherings will be lowered to 1,000, while bars and restaurants will be shut down unless social-distancing rules are observed strictly.

Macy’s Parade Goes TV-Only (1:20 p.m. NY)

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a 96-year-old holiday celebration in New York City, will be a sharply reduced television-only spectacle this year, the company said in a statement Monday. Elements of the parade will be performed in and around the retailer’s Herald Square flagship store but won’t move. The parade’s trademark giant character balloons will still appear, but rather than being held by the usual dozens of handlers, they’ll be anchored to specialty vehicles, Macy’s said.

Lebanon Records Prison Cases (11:45 a.m. NY)

Lebanon recorded at least 48 coronavirus cases among inmates and 13 guards in the country’s largest prison, infamous for poor living conditions and overpopulation.

Videos circulated online, showing a prisoner carrying another who appeared to be unconscious in a hallway of Roumieh Prison. Lebanon is facing its worst financial crisis in decades and a recent surge in coronavirus cases has stirred fears of the government’s ability to contain the outbreak.

U.A.E. Allows Vaccine For Front-Line Workers (11:45 a.m. NY)

The United Arab Emirates has allowed the use of vaccine for the coronavirus for front-line workers, saying that phase three testing of the vaccine has generated effective results. The Gulf country has witnessed a recent surge in virus cases, registering a little over 1,000 new daily cases on Saturday, the highest on record.

Florida Posts Fewest New Cases Since Early June (11:15 a.m.)

Florida reported 665,730 cases Monday, up 0.3% from a day earlier, compared with an average 0.4% increase in the previous seven days. That’s a daily change of 1,736 new cases, the fewest since June 11, according to the health department report, which includes data through Sunday.

Cases are typically lower on Mondays due to weekend laboratory schedules. But even on a rolling seven-day basis, cases fell to 17,461, the lowest since June 18.

Deaths reached 12,642, an increase of 0.3%, or 34. Deaths often trail infections by weeks, and generally take even longer to be reflected in the data.

New Cases in Italy Decline (11 a.m. NY)

Italy reported 1,008 new cases Monday, compared with 1,458 the previous day.

Fourteen deaths were reported, 7 more than Sunday. Patients in intensive care units rose by 10 to 197. That compares with a peak of more than 4,000 ICU patients in early April.

Portugal New Cases Top 600 (10 a.m. NY)

Portugal on Monday reported 613 new cases in a day, taking the total to 64,596, the government said. The country has had more than 600 daily new confirmed coronavirus cases in four of the last six days.

Of the new cases reported today, only 10% are people who are more than 70 years old, the age group in which there’s greater risk of complications from Covid-19, Secretary of State for Health Antonio Lacerda Sales said at a press conference in Lisbon on Monday.

Inhaled Versions of U.K. Vaccines to Be Studied (10 a.m. NY)

Researchers are beginning the first study of whether two of the U.K.’s experimental Covid-19 vaccines can be inhaled, a possible way of raising their ability to prevent the airborne infection.

The study will compare vaccine candidates from Imperial College London and the University of Oxford delivered by inhalation through the mouth, according to a statement Monday. The hope is that targeting cells in the lining of the lungs will induce a more effective immune response.

ECB’s Makhlouf Says Pandemic Impact to Live On (8:50 a.m. NY)

ECB Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf said the impact of the pandemic will continue to reverberate throughout much of 2021, and society needs to learn to live with the virus outbreak in terms of how it affects economic activity. Speaking on a webinar, he suggested that banks needed to start whether loans to companies hit by the pandemic need to be restructured, and urged lenders not to postpone decisions.

U.K. Covid Trial Starts Testing Regeneron Drug (8:10 a.m. NY)

U.K. researchers will start testing an antibody cocktail developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a key trial of possible Covid-19 treatments.

The drug will be given to hospitalized patients in the Recovery trial and assessed for all-cause mortality against those receiving the usual standard of care, Regeneron and the University of Oxford, which is running the trial, said in a statement Monday. The researchers will also look at length of hospital stay and need for ventilation.

U.K. Labour Leader Self-Isolating as Precaution (8:10 a.m. NY)

Keir Starmer, leader of the U.K.’s main opposition Labour Party, is self-isolating as a precaution after a member of his household developed possible symptoms of Covid-19.

He won’t take part in the parliamentary debate on Monday on the government’s controversial plan to break international law and rewrite the Brexit withdrawal agreement, a party spokesperson said. Starmer hasn’t shown symptoms himself and will be working from home.

Iran Sees New Deaths, Cases Jump (6:30 a.m. NY)

Iran recorded its biggest jump in daily coronavirus figures since mid-August, with 156 fatalities and 2,619 new cases in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.

The pandemic is picking up pace in Iran. Over the past week, the country recorded an average of 129 fatalities and 2,262 cases per day, rising from 120 deaths and 1,942 new cases per day in the first week of September.

Czech Republic Faces Second Wave of Pandemic (6:05 a.m. NY)

If the growth rate of new cases remains at the current level, and no measures are taken to counter it, the Czech Republic’s hospitals may reach limits for caring for Covid-19 patients by the end of October, according to Roman Prymula, the government’s heath commissioner.

The nation had a record 1,541 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, compared to 504 on August 21. The government ordered the wearing face-masks in indoor spaces last week and limited opening hours of bars in Prague.

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With assistance from Bloomberg