U.S. Cases Up 1.1%; Ghana Health Minister Infected: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

New York’s new deaths fell for a second day while Florida’s cases outpaced the weekly average for a fifth straight day. A former top U.S. health official said new outbreaks are now occurring.

Ghana confirmed the nation’s health minister has the virus. Paris restaurants can start serving indoor diners on Monday as France speeds up reopening.

Russia is emerging “confidently” from crisis, Vladimir Putin said, while political fights are hindering Donald Trump. An infectious disease researcher said the virus won’t slow until 60% of the U.S. is infected, up from 5% now.

Key Developments:

• Virus Tracker: Cases pass 7.8 million; deaths exceed 431,000
• College towns fear virus will leave them as U.S. ghost towns
• Millions of jobs may be permanently lost in reallocation shock
• Indonesia tells Jakarta firms to implement new work hours
• Beijing locks down part of city after outbreak at market
• New York’s Chinatown is starting over, and it’s painful
• Thousands flock to Miami Beach even as Florida hits record

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus. For a look back at this week’s top stories from QuickTake, click here.

Ghana Health Minister Gets Covid (4:40 p.m. NY)

Ghana Health Minister Kwaku Agyemanh, 50, has contracted Covid-19, the president’s office said in a statement.

The West Africa country also reported a 4.7% jump in new cases, to 11,964, with three deaths that brings the national toll to 54. The increase in infections was slightly less than the 7.3% pace reported Saturday.

HUD Chief: ‘Learn How to Live’ With Virus (4:30 p.m. NY)

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said the nation has two options in dealing with the coronavirus:

“We can allow it to dominate us or we can learn as much as we can about it and we can learn how to live with it in a safe, prescribed manner,” Carson, a former neurosurgeon, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I think the second option is the one that’s going to be adopted.”

U.S. Cases Rise 1.1%, in Line With Average (4 p.m. NY)

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased by 23,191 from the same time Saturday to 2.08 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The 1.1% increase matched the average daily increase of 1.1% over the past week. Fatalities rose 0.5% to 115,586.

• New York added 694 cases, a 0.2% rise, to 383,324, with 23 deaths raising the total to 24,551 -- about a fifth of the U.S. fatalities.
• New Jersey had 305 new cases, a 1.8% increase, pushing the total to 166,881, with an added 40 deaths for a total of 12,625.
• California had 3,212 cases, a 2.2% jump, to 148,855, and reported 74 new deaths, a jump of 1.5%, to 5,063.
• Illinois had 672 new cases, a 0.5% rise, for a total of 132,543, and 19 deaths to lift the toll to 6,308.
• Pennsylvania had 336 new cases, a 0.4% increase, for a total of 78,798, and 4 new deaths to raise the total to 6,215.
• Arizona cases jumped 3.6%, or 1,233, for a total of 35,691, with 3 new deaths, raising the toll to 1,186.

Ex-FDA Chief: New Outbreaks Underway (3:30 p.m. NY)

Scott Gottlieb, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief, said rising case counts and high hospitalization rates in some states coupled with increasing positivity suggests “there are outbreaks underway.”

“States like Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, where you see those outbreaks right now, never really reduced the number of cases substantially,” Gottlieb said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “They had spread. It was persistent. And now it’s flaring up.”

Gottleib said states like Texas and Arizona aren’t able to trace the origin of the new infections and “can’t take targeted measures.”

France Speeds Up Reopening (2:10 pm. NY)

French President Emanuel Macron said the pace of emerging from nationwide lockdowns will accelerate, with Paris restaurants opening for indoor dining as soon as Monday and schools back in session a week later.

Macron, in a televised address, said the restrictions imposed during the outbreak saved thousands of lives. France set aside almost 500 billion euros ($560 billion) to deal with the virus, but he said he isn’t planning to raise taxes to cover the costs. Bankruptcies and job losses remain possible, he said.

French authorities report 407 new cases, taking the total to 194,819. There were nine additional deaths, for a total of 29,407.

Ikea May Return State Aid (1:14 p.m. NY)

Ikea may return state aid that helped subsidize furloughs triggered by the pandemic because business is recovering faster than expected, the Financial Times reported. The retailer is negotiating with Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain and the U.S., retail operations manager Tolga Oncu at Ingka Group, which controls Ikea, told the paper.

Ikea expected sales to drop 70% to 80% as it faced shutting stores, he said. Now all but 23 stores have reopened and sales are being buoyed by pent-up demand, he said.

Cuomo: N.Y. Deaths ‘Lowest’ Ever (12:30 p.m. NY)

New York recorded 23 coronavirus deaths, the “lowest number ever,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said as he warned of tough action to crack down on businesses that break rules for face masks, large crowds and physical distancing.

The public has filed more than 25,000 complaints about violations, mostly by bars and restaurants in Manhattan and the Hamptons on Long Island. “I am not going to allow a situation to exist that we know has a high likelihood of causing an increase in the spread of the virus,” he said. If necessary, he said the state might tighten restrictions in areas with multiple violations.

Cuomo declared “great progress” fighting the pandemic. New cases rose 0.2%, in line with the past week’s average. Deaths were the lowest since a peak of almost 800 in early April.

Chile Sets 3rd Stimulus (11:55 a.m. NY)

Chile’s government agreed with opposition lawmakers to pass a third stimulus package, worth as much as $12 billion, to counter the slump caused by lockdowns. The measures will boost income for poor families and the unemployed, subsidize job creation and cut taxes for small and medium-sized companies, the government said.

President Sebastian Pinera had already announced measures worth about $17 billion, about 7% of gross domestic product.

Italy Cases Inch Higher (12:10 p.m. NY)

Italy registered 338 new cases, down from 346 on Saturday, but higher than the previous seven-day average of 264. The country had a one-day peak of 6,557 on March 21. Cases have reached 236,989. The death toll rose to 34,345 with 44 added on Sunday. About 72% of new cases were reported in Lombardy, the virus epicenter in Italy’s north that includes Milan.

Virus Won’t Slow for Months: Researcher (11:30 a.m. NY)

The coronavirus is likely to keep spreading until at least 60% of the U.S. population has been infected, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. The U.S. infection rate is 5%, he said.

“We’re going to see a lot of additional cases out there,” Osterholm said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It is not over in the next several weeks.”

Osterholm said 22 states report increasing numbers of cases, eight are level and 21 have decreases: “We just have to be humble and say we’re in an unsure moment right now what’s happening in this country.”

Kudlow Says Economy Recovering (11:25 a.m. NY)

The U.S. economy is recovering from the “act of nature” created by state lockdowns, said White House economic director Larry Kudlow as he predicted a rapid increase in activity. “There’s a very good chance you are going to get the V-shaped recovery,” Kudlow said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

On “Sunday Morning Futures” on the Fox News Channel, he said the U.S. is on track for 20% growth in the second half and a jobless rate below 10% by year-end.

Florida Cases Increasing (10:52 a.m. N.Y.)

Florida reported 75,568 Covid-19 cases on Sunday, up 2.7% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 2.3% in the previous seven days. Deaths among Florida residents reached 2,931, an increase of 0.2%.

U.K. Reports Fewer Deaths (10:28 a.m. N.Y.)

The U.K. reported an additional 36 deaths among those who tested positive, bringing the total to 41,698. That’s the lowest daily total since the country declared lockdown on March 23. Reported fatalities were also below 100 last weekend and climbed again to more than 200 during the week. The number of new cases rose by 1,514 compared to 1,425 on Saturday.

China New Cases Linked to Europe (9 a.m. NY)

Genome sequencing showed that the virus in the new outbreak in Beijing came from Europe, and it’s unknown exactly how it was imported, said Yang Peng, an expert at Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control. Beijing identified eight more cases from midnight to 7 a.m. Sunday, city authorities said in the second briefing of the day. All the new cases are associated with the outbreak at city’s largest fruit and vegetable market.

Spain to Aid Car Industry (8:42 a.m. NY)

The Spanish government will present a 3.75 billion-euro ($4.2 billion) stimulus program for the car industry on Monday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. It will also present a stimulus plan for the tourism industry on June 18, he said. Both sectors have been severely hit by the pandemic, which led Spain to impose one of the world’s strictest lockdowns.

Portugal Has New Cases in Lisbon Region (8:14 a.m. NY)

Portugal reported 227 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, below 300 for a third day and taking the total to 36,690, the government said. The number of deaths, hospitalized patients and of cases in intensive care units both fell from Saturday. The additional cases are mostly in the greater Lisbon region, where authorities have increased testing after new clusters were identified.

Putin Says Russia Emerging Faster Than U.S. (7:55 a.m. NY)

President Vladimir Putin said Russia is emerging “confidently” from the coronavirus crisis, drawing a contrast with the U.S., where he suggested Donald Trump’s efforts to tackle the pandemic have been hamstrung by political bickering.

In an interview with state TV, Putin said Russia has suffered “minimal losses” from the virus and praised the government for working in a coordinated fashion “as a single team.” Russia has more than 528,000 cases, the third-highest after the U.S. and Brazil.

India Deploys Rail Cars for Virus Cases (7:46 a.m. NY)

India will use rail coaches to house people infected with Covid-19 in New Delhi because of a shortage of hospital beds. The 500 carriages will add about 8,000 beds for patients in the capital city, Federal Home Minister Amit Shah said in a tweet after a meeting of senior ministers, the New Delhi chief minister and officials. The number of tests will be doubled, he said.

Residents in New Delhi’s containment zones will be asked to download the government’s contact-tracing app, a Home Ministry spokesman said. Doctors and public health experts warn the city has yet to reach its peak of infections and numbers are expected to keep rising over the coming weeks. New Delhi may need 80,000 additional beds to manage an expected surge of more than half a million cases by the end of next month.

China Moves Data Briefing Online (6:24 a.m. NY)

China has canceled an economic briefing scheduled for Monday in Beijing as Covid-19 cases spiked in the capital city. The National Bureau of Statistics said the press conference scheduled for 10 a.m. won’t be held, but data and explanatory statements will still be released. May readings on industrial output, retail sales and fixed asset investment are due.

Iran Has Most Deaths Since April 13 (6:15 a.m. NY)

Iran’s daily number of fatalities from coronavirus surged to the highest in nine weeks with 107 deaths recorded overnight, raising the total to 8,837. The number of infections reached 187,427 as 2,472 people tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, up from 2,410 on Saturday.

Tokyo Finds Most New Cases Since May 5 (6 a.m. NY)

Tokyo disclosed its highest daily total of new cases since May 5 at 47, local media including TV Asahi reported. Twenty seven of the cases were traced back to nightclubs and bars, said Yasutoshi Nishimura, economy and fiscal policy minister, at a press conference Sunday. Eighteen people were apparently infected at the same place on a bustling street in Shinjuku, reported Asahi Shimbun. It is yet to be determined where 16 other people contracted the virus, said Nishimura.

U.K. to Review Distancing Rule (5:13 p.m. HK)

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak backed calls to ease the U.K.’s 2-meter social distancing rule. The government is conducting a “comprehensive review” of the regulation to reduce the risk of transmitting coronavirus.

The chancellor said the fact the U.K. economy shrank 20% in April showed “the scale of the impact” the pandemic has had. He said shopping will be a “safe environment” when non-essential stores open again from Monday.

German Infections Slow (5 p.m. HK)

Germany had 41 new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours through Sunday morning, bringing the total to 187,267 according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That compares with 572 the previous day and almost 7,000 at the peak of the pandemic in late March. The number of deaths associated with the virus was 10 after 16 the previous day.

Russian Cases Climb 1.7% (4:45 p.m. HK)

Russia reports 8,835 new confirmed coronavirus infections, a 1.7% increase over the past day, according to data from the government’s virus response center. An additional 119 people died in same period, bringing the overall death toll to 6,948. Russia has the third-highest number of cases globally, after the U.S. and Brazil.

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With assistance from Bloomberg