San Francisco Pares Reopening; Newark Curfews: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. reported a record 142,907 new coronavirus infections on Monday and appears poised to reach the most hospitalizations yet later this week. A public vaccination campaign could begin by spring, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said.

The New York region showed continued signs of strain, with the state recording the most new cases since early May. Newark, New Jersey’s largest city, will impose a curfew in three hot spots.

The resurgent virus also continued its deadly spread across Europe, with France reporting the most fatalities since April. Lebanon announced a nationwide lockdown, and Moscow adopted a raft of new restrictions as the number of new infections surged.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases near 51 million; deaths top 1.26 million
• U.S. Hot Spots: Covid back in cities after months as rural problem
• Covid superspreader risk is linked to restaurants, gyms, hotels
• Pfizer vaccine results leave questions about safety, longevity
• Where things stand in the race for a Covid-19 vaccine: QuickTake
• Vaccine Tracker: Encouraging breakthroughs offer hope for controlling virus

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.

N.Y. Nears 4,000 New Daily Cases (4:15 p.m. NY)

New coronavirus cases in New York state are nearing 4,000 a day and the positive testing rate topped 3%, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday. The tally was the most positive cases since the start of May, when New York City was a global center of the crisis.

Of the more than 128,000 tests reported on Monday, 3,965 were positive. There were 1,548 hospitalizations and 32 virus-related deaths Monday, according to state data.

San Francisco Pares Reopening (4:10 p.m. NY)

San Francisco will close indoor dining and reduce capacity on businesses such as gyms and movie theaters after a dramatic increase in virus cases. Infection rates have more than doubled in the past few weeks and the surge has the potential to be worse than in the spring, said Grant Colfax, the city’s top health official.

“The uptick we’ve seen is really a cause for concern,” Mayor London Breed said at a press conference Tuesday. “The fact is the virus is spreading, and we have to make the hard decisions.”

Elsewhere in California, the virus is rebounding and for the first time since the state enacted its tiered reopening system, no counties made forward progress in the past week. Three counties moved back Tuesday into the most restrictive tier, including Sacramento, home of the state capital.

If current trends continue, more than half of the state’s 58 counties will have moved backward in the four-tier system by next week, said Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency. Although still far below the summer peak, the number of Californians hospitalized with Covid-19 has grown nearly 32% in the past 14 days, he said.

Newark Imposes Curfew in Hot Spots (3:45 p.m. NY)

Newark, New Jersey’s most populous city, immediately will enforce a curfew in three sections where positivity rates are highest, save for emergencies and those going to and from work.

“No one should be on the street after 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekend​s,” according to a statement issued by the office of Mayor Ras Baraka.

Newark’s positivity is 19% while New Jersey’s is 7.7%, Baraka said. He also ordered the suspension of “all sports of any kind,” capped indoor and outdoor gatherings at 10 people, banned visits to long-term health-care facilities and limited religious services to 25% capacity. The city is averaging 230 new cases per day, higher than some county-wide numbers.

Newark’s new rules are more restrictive than those issued statewide on Monday by Governor Phil Murphy. Starting Thursday, New Jersey restaurants must stop indoor service at 10 p.m. daily and bars may serve only diners seated at tables. New Jersey on Tuesday reported 3,877 new cases, an 87% jump from a day earlier.

French Death Toll is Highest Since April (3:35 p.m. NY)

Deaths in France from the coronavirus rose 1,220 to 42,207, the biggest increase since April 15. The European nation also reported 22,180 new s cases in the past 24 hours. The seven-day average, which smoothes out fluctuation in the data, dropped to 46,699 cases.

Pennsylvania Has Record Cases (3:20 p.m. NY)

Pennsylvania reported a record 4,361 additional cases of Covid today, more than double its highest number during the first surge in April. Hospitalizations have jumped to more than 1,900 from less than 600 a month ago. As of Nov. 9, the state had a positive test rate of 6.9%, up from 6.1% the week before.

Hungary to Mandate Mask-Wearing (2:35 p.m. NY)

Hungary will make mask-wearing mandatory in all public spaces as of Wednesday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview on state television.

Orban said further restrictions were needed to contain the spread of the pandemic and avoid hospitals being overwhelmed. The government would review the impact of the lockdown measures in two weeks, he said.

Economic measures would focus on the hardest-hit industries, including hotels and restaurants, in the next month amid the strictest lockdown steps. The government was planning broader stimulus to help other businesses later.

N.J. Hit With ‘Devastating’ Surge (1:20 p.m. NY)

New Jersey reported 3,877 new cases, an 87% jump from a day earlier. Essex County alone, home to Newark, the state’s most populous city, reported 675 cases, the most among 21 counties. Four other northeastern counties -- Passaic, Union, Bergen and Hudson -- accounted for 35% of the state’s total new positive tests. Those five suburban New York City counties were early hard-hit targets in March and April.

“These numbers are devastating,” Governor Phil Murphy said on Twitter.

At the same time, the statewide need for in-patient medical care is soaring: The 1,645 people hospitalized Monday night were the most since June 9, and a 41% increase over the figure a week ago. Intensive-care units reported 327 patients, 49% more than on Nov. 2.

Starting on Thursday, Murphy’s administration will enforce new restrictions, including ending indoor restaurant service at 10 p.m. daily and banning bars from serving anyone other than diners seated at tables.

Italy Deaths Highest Since mid-April (12:30 p.m. NY)

Italy reported 35,098 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, bringing the total to 995,463. Covid-19 related daily deaths jumped to 580, the most since mid-April.

Silvio Brusaferro, head of the ISS public health institute, said at a press conference that the pressure on hospitals is close to critical levels. Covid-19 patients occupied 36% of all intensive therapy units and 51% of hospital beds across the country.

Cases Surging in U.S. West (11:50 a.m. NY)

Cases are sweeping through western and midwestern U.S. states. New Mexico reported new positive test results topped 1,400 for the first time on Monday. In Colorado Springs, Colorado, infections at the El Paso County jail rose to 859 inmates out of 1,246 in custody as on Sunday, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.

In Nebraska, state Senator State Senator Mike Groene, a proponent of herd immunity, announced “I finally got my wish and cont(r)acted the COVID-19 virus,” the Omaha-World Herald reported. In Oskaloosa, Kansas, Jefferson County commissioners reversed course after opting out of a state mask mandate in July, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

Even so, political resistance remains high in the West. In Utah, about 50 mask-less protesters gathered at the Utah governor’s mansion Monday in opposition to a statewide mask mandate, the Deseret News reported. They carried signs, including a saying “Our immune system is our God given PPE.”

Arizona Reports Most Cases Since July (11:50 a.m. NY)

Arizona on Tuesday reported 3,434 new Covid-19 cases, the most since late July as the state battles to keep the virus spread from returning to levels it saw in the summer. The one-day spike was almost double the prior seven-day average increase of 0.7%. Arizona reported 3,748 cases on July 25.

Paris-Area ICU Occupation to Exceed 99% (11:05 a.m. NY)

The Paris region will cross the threshold of more than 99% of initial intensive-care unit capacity taken by Covid-19 patients on Tuesday, regional health agency head Aurelien Rousseau said in a tweet. That’s up from about 96% a day earlier, and the highest in five months, after confirmed coronavirus cases in France rose to record levels last week. Nationwide, 92.5% of initial ICU beds were occupied by severely ill Covid patients on Monday, data from health authorities show.

Houston ICU Admissions Soar (10 a.m. NY)

Houston-area intensive-care units logged an almost 10% surge in virus patients in the past 24 hours as hot spots worsened across the second-largest U.S. state.

The number of Covid-19 patients in ICU wards in the nine-county region that includes Houston jumped to 246, the highest since Sept. 11, according to the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council. The figure is still well below the July peak of 990.

In El Paso, the state’s worst hot spot, virus hospitalizations in general beds and ICUs topped 1,000, a six-fold increase since the resurgent outbreak emerged in that town about six weeks ago. The contagion has overwhelmed El Paso’s contact-tracing efforts: Just 49% of identified “close contacts” have been notified within 48 hours, city and county data showed.

BioNTech Says $19.50 Could Be Vaccine Dose Price Benchmark (9:15 a.m. NY)

Pfizer’s German vaccine partner said the price of $19.50 a dose, which is in its supply contract with the U.S., could turn out to be a benchmark for the developed world.

HHS Chief Sees Covid-19 Vaccines for Public by Spring (8:20 a.m. NY)

By spring, there could be enough vaccine for general public vaccination, the U.S.’s Azar told NBC’s Today show.

Speaking about a possible distribution schedule for vaccines from Pfizer or other drugmakers, Azar said there would be enough for nursing homes and health-care workers by the end of January.

Moscow Extends Restrictions Beyond New Year (7:23 a.m. NY)

Moscow adopted a raft of new restrictions as the number of new infections continues to grow and extended the measures past Russia’s 10-day New Year holiday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Tuesday on his blog.

Starting Friday, restaurants and bars will close between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., theaters must cap attendance at 25% and most cultural events will be canceled, including the city’s popular outdoor year-end festivities. Still, Sobyanin has shied away from a full lockdown.

U.S. Laments WHO’s China Mission (7 a.m. NY)

The terms of reference determined by a team of international and Chinese scientists in an effort to investigate the origins of the coronavirus were only shared with the World Health Organization’s member states a few days ago, a U.S. delegate said at the World Health Assembly.

The investigation appears to be inconsistent with the mandate given by member states, the delegate said, adding the terms weren’t negotiated with member states. The expert group held its first meeting with its Chinese counterparts virtually on Oct. 30.

EU Finalizes Pfizer Vaccine Deal (6:48 a.m. NY)

The European Union finalized an agreement to buy 200 million doses from Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, with an option to buy another 100 million. The initial accord was announced Sept. 9.

Lebanon to Impose Nationwide Lockdown (6:16 a.m. NY)

Lebanon plans to impose a full lockdown from Nov. 14 to the end of the month to give the health sector, already under strain from the financial crisis, time to avoid a collapse as the country experiences a spike in cases.

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