U.S. Cases Up 0.7%; N.Y. College Students Go Home: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Anthony Fauci, the U.S.’s top infectious disease expert, named seven states most at risk of a jump in Covid-19 cases if they fail to take precautions over the Labor Day weekend. SUNY Oneonta sent students home for the semester after an outbreak, as cases surge on U.S. campuses. Arizona cases spiked.

The chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed said it was “extremely unlikely but not impossible” a vaccine would be ready in the U.S. by November.

Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline Plc administered their experimental vaccines to patients for the first time in preparation for late-stage trials before year-end.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases surpass 26 million; deaths exceed 865,000
• Frontrunning Covid vaccines will soon have their moment of truth
• How vast Covid response remade central bank toolkits: QuickTake
• Airlines fly more gadgets and sea trout to fill passenger void
• Trump and top aides ditch masks after saying patriots wear them
• Vaccine tracker: Where are we in the race for protection?

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.

‘Low Chance’ of Vaccine by November: U.S. Official (4:33 p.m. NY)

Authorization of a Covid-19 vaccine by Nov. 1 when U.S. health officials have told states to be prepared to distribute shots is “extremely unlikely but not impossible,” Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed told NPR’s All Things Considered on Thursday.

“There is a very, very low chance that the trials that are running as we speak could read before the end of October,” Slaoui said, referring to when data on a vaccine’s safety and effectiveness could be available.

He also said there will likely be about 15 million to 20 million vaccine doses available by the end of the year and enough to immunize the U.S. population by the middle of 2021.

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 Wednesday to 6.13 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 0.8% to 186,293.

• Florida reported 637,013 cases, up 0.6% from a day earlier, in line with the average increase in the previous seven days. Deaths reached 11,650, an increase of 149, or 1.3%.
• Arizona reported 1,091 new cases, the biggest one-day tally since Aug. 13. The 0.5% spike, bringing the state’s total cases to 203,953. Deaths rose by 65 for a total of 5,130.
• Hawaii experienced a 3.9% increase in the number of cases from the same time yesterday, bringing the total to 8,991, according to the Johns Hopkins and Bloomberg News data.

SUNY Oneonta Sends Student Home (2:30 p.m. NY)

The State University of New York at Oneonta plans to send on-campus students home and cease all in-person classes for the rest of the fall semester after a Covid-19 outbreak. The college in upstate New York had 389 confirmed cases since the start of the semester Aug. 24.

The college had begun a two-week “pause” period on Aug. 30 in order to focus on testing while limiting the spread of COVID-19.

“The college now needs to take this new action to contain the virus and prevent further community spread,” President Barbara Jean Morris said in a statement.

California Cases Up; Positivity Rate Drops (2:30 p.m. NY)

California reported 5,125 new cases, a 0.7% increase and roughly in line with its 14-day average. The state recorded 164 new deaths, exceeding the two-week average of 117, for a total of 13,327 virus fatalities.

Still, there were more signs of improvement in the state’s outbreak, with hospitalizations dropping 4.5% to 3,604 patients, the lowest in almost 11 weeks. The rate of positive tests over the past 14 days was 5%, the lowest since June. On a seven-day basis, it has fallen to 4.4%, Governor Gavin Newsom said in a briefing yesterday.

French Cases Continue to Surge (1:30 p.m. NY)

France registered 7,157 new cases over 24 hours, the third time in a week that it’s reported more than 7,000 new cases. The seven-day rolling average has been climbing for more than two weeks, rising to the highest since the start of the outbreak.

The virus is spreading exponentially in France, and increased testing doesn’t explain the surge in infections, the Health Ministry said. While testing has more than doubled since early July, new cases have increased by a factor of 12. It’s spreading in particular among young adults, who aren’t sticking to preventive measures as well as the elderly have.

Deaths increased by 20 to 30,706. Hospitalizations and patients in intensive care have started creeping up in the past week, with the number of people in ICU climbing to the highest since July 20.

Pentagon Picks AstraZeneca Trial Sites (12:50 p.m. NY)

The U.S. Department of Defense said that five sites have been selected for Phase 3 trials of a vaccine candidate under from AstraZeneca as part of Operation Warp Speed.

“Now that vaccines have passed the first phases of testing for safety, dosing and response, we are ready to move into the next phase where volunteers are needed to join large clinical studies,” Assistant Secretrary of Defense for Health Affairs Tom McCaffery said in a statement. The sites include Naval Medical Center San Diego; Joint Base San Antonio Brooke Army Medical Center; Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center; Walter Reed Medical Center; and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.

Italy Reports Almost 1,400 Cases (12:10 p.m. NY)

Italy registered 1,397 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. There were 10 additional deaths from the virus, according to data on the Health Ministry’s website.

The numbers remain distant from the pandemic’s peak of 6,557 new infections a day on March 21.

Total cases reported since late February rose to 272,912.

Spain Cases Stable (12:05 p.m. NY)

Spain’s daily coronavirus infections remained roughly stable Thursday, as the country struggles to control new outbreaks.

The country recorded 3,607 new cases in the past 24 hours, compared with 3,663 on Wednesday, the Health Ministry said in a statement. There were 191 deaths recorded over the past seven days.

Arizona Cases Surge (11:50 a.m. NY)

Arizona on Thursday reported 1,091 new virus cases, the biggest one-day tally since Aug. 13. The 0.5% spike, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 203,953, was above the 0.2% increase of the prior seven-day period. The number of deaths rose by 65 for a total of 5,130, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Florida Cases in Line With Moderate Trend (11:01 a.m. NY)

Florida reported 637,013 Covid-19 cases Thursday, up 0.6% from a day earlier, in line with the average increase in the previous seven days. That’s a daily change of 3,571 new cases, according to the health department report, which includes data through Wednesday.

Deaths among Florida residents reached 11,650, an increase of 149, or 1.3%, and the seven-day rolling total was 782, a slight increase from a day earlier, when it hit the lowest on a weekly basis since July 19. Deaths often trail infections by weeks, and generally take even longer to be reflected in the data.

Israel Proposes Lockdown for Over Half a Million People (10:43 a.m. NY)

An Israeli cabinet subcommittee has voted to impose a lockdown on 30 towns and neighborhoods that are suffering from the highest coronavirus infections rates, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported.

Under the lockdown, businesses and most schools will be closed and residents will be required to remain within 500 meters of their homes, the radio and TV broadcaster said.

The lockdown, which is subject to review by a parliamentary committee, will cover some 600,000 people, Kan said. The towns on the list are mainly made up of Arab and ultra-Orthodox residents.

Cuomo Says Malls Can Reopen; Still Hesitant on Indoor Dining (10:37 a.m. NY)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said malls and casinos can open Sept. 9 if they have enhanced air filtration systems. Casino occupancy will be limited to 25%, while malls must keep occupancy to 50%, he said Wednesday.

No table games or beverage service will be allowed on casino gaming floors, Cuomo said on a conference call with reporters.

Cuomo said he agreed that indoor dining at restaurants should be reopened but was concerned about ensuring compliance with social distance and mask rules.

“I have besieged New York City to do a better job on compliance and enforcement,” he said. “Look, if New York City can say this many police, NYPD, can be put on a task force to monitor the compliance that’s something that we can discuss.”

Arrest in Cyber Attacks on Miami-Dade Schools (10:24 a.m. NY)

Miami-Dade Schools Police arrested a 16-year-old student Thursday in connection with cyber attacks against the public school district that have caused chaos in the first week of online learning.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools, one of the largest districts in the country, said it is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, according to a statement posted on its website.

The district said the student orchestrated attacks designed to overwhelm its networks. Like many parts of Florida, Miami-Dade started the school year this week online over concerns about Covid-19 in south Florida.

N.Y. Eateries Warn of Closures (10:20 a.m. NY)

Nearly two-thirds of New York state restaurants said in a survey that they are likely to close by year end without government support. Of those that expect to close, 55% foresee it happening before November, according to a survey of more than 1,000 restaurant owners across the state.

The New York State Restaurant Association is lobbying state and federal government for commercial rent relief, payment of business interruption insurance claims, the resumption of indoor dining in New York City and an increase in the capacity for inside restaurants in other parts of the state.

Scotland’s Sturgeon Says Virus Spreading (8:45 a.m. NY)

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned the coronavirus is spreading again, as her government struggles to balance protecting health with the need to kickstart the economy.

She told reporters on Thursday that the so-called R-number, or reproduction rate, is “probably above 1, perhaps as high as 1.4,” meaning transmission is increasing. Still, she said the overall prevalence of the virus remains low.

Fauci Warns States Over Labor Day (7 a.m. NY)

Fauci said that seven states that have seen upticks in Covid-19 cases should be particularly vigilant over Labor Day, and warned that if Americans are “careless” there could be another jump in cases this fall.

“There are several states that are at risk for surging, namely North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview this week. “Those states are starting to see an increase in the percent positive of their testing; that is generally predictive that there’s going to be a problem.”

Thailand Reports First Local Case After 100 Days (6:45 a.m. NY)

Thailand detected its first locally transmitted Covid-19 case since late May, snapping a streak of 100 days without community infection.

The new case on Thursday was confirmed in an inmate of a prison in Bangkok shortly after the incarceration. The patient’s history showed that he stayed with his family of five before being lodged in jail, health ministry officials said in Bangkok. There was no immediate risk of transmission among the prison population because all new inmates are quarantined for a 14-day period, they said.

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