U.S. Cases Increase 0.2%; Trump Downplayed Risk: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

President Donald Trump told author Bob Woodward that he deliberately minimized the danger of the deadly coronavirus. He later embraced the remarks, saying he downplayed risks to avoid a panic.

BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. reached a provisional agreement to supply at least 200 million doses of any successful Covid-19 vaccine to the European Union. The head of the U.S. National Institutes of Health said there’s no way to know when a safe vaccine will be ready.

Germany’s virus reproduction number remained above a key threshold, fresh evidence of the pandemic’s resurgence in Europe. India recorded more than 1,000 fatalities for an eighth straight day.

New York City indoor restaurant dining can resume this month at 25% capacity, marking a milestone in the metropolitan region’s recovery.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases surpass 27.6 million; deaths exceed 899,000
• AstraZeneca must explain spinal ailment to resume vaccine trial
• Island mystery highlights uncoordinated U.K. travel quarantines
• JPMorgan warning shows banks at risk in hunt for pandemic fraud
• Airlines plot 8,000-jet airlift to distribute Covid vaccines
• 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.

Trump Defends Remarks Downplaying Virus (4:50 p.m. NY)

President Donald Trump defended telling journalist Bob Woodward that he intentionally downplayed the severity of the coronavirus in public, saying he didn’t want to cause panic or price spikes.

“We don’t want to instill panic, we don’t want to jump up and down and start shouting that we have a problem that is a tremendous problem, scare everybody,” Trump told reporters at the White House, after announcing a list of potential Supreme Court appointees.

South Dakota Biker Rally Linked to Cases (4:30 p.m. NY)

A rally last month in Sturgis, South Dakota, that attracted hundreds of thousands of largely unmasked motorcycle riders may be linked to soaring cases across the U.S.

More than 460 counties nationwide where bikers originated from and Covid-19 cases were trending downward before the rally have shown increases in the virus, a Bloomberg Industry Group data analysis shows.

More than two dozen counties in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Texas flipped in such a manner, while significant numbers of counties in states as far away from the Dakotas as North Carolina, California, and Louisiana also made the list.

U.S. Cases Rise 0.2% (4 p.m. NY)

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased 0.2% as compared with the same time Tuesday to 6.33 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The increase was lower than the average daily gain of 0.6% over the past week. Deaths rose by 0.3% to 189,972.

• Florida reported 652,148 cases, up 0.3% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 0.4% in the previous seven days. The state posted 200 new Covid-19 deaths, the largest single-day increase in the three weeks, bringing the total to 12,115.
• California reported 1,616 new virus infections, the lowest daily total since May 19, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
• Arizona reported 496 new virus cases, a day after recording just 81, which was the lowest daily tally since March. The 0.2% increase on Wednesday, to 206,541, was just below the prior seven-day average of 0.3%.

Houston Daily Tally Inflated by Old Cases (2:48 p.m. NY)

Houston-area health authorities are overstating the number of new Covid-19 cases as data teams struggle to work through a backlog of old test results in the third-largest U.S. county.

On an almost daily basis, Harris County Public Health releases a tally of what it calls “new cases” that a Bloomberg analysis found includes hundreds of diagnoses that are weeks or months old. On Tuesday, for example, more than 70% of the new cases disclosed actually were detected prior to this month and some dated as far back as June.

The confusion means authorities may be exaggerating the current severity of the outbreak -- and were unknowingly understating the extent of the crisis in June and July, when hospitals were stretched to their limits.

California Has Fewest New Cases Since May (2:45 p.m. NY)

California reported 1,616 new virus infections, the lowest daily total since May 19, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The increase was well below the 14-day average of 4,316, and reflects ongoing improvement after a summer surge that saw cases top 10,000 a day. The state’s average rate of positive tests over the past 14 days reached 4%, a new low.

With the state progressing in its virus fight, Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday cleared five more counties -- including Silicon Valley’s Santa Clara and Orange in Southern California -- to ease some restrictions. In their new tiers, those areas can open businesses including movie theaters and restaurants indoors, along with museums, zoos and churches, with limitations.

Miami to Push Back Curfew, Expand Opening (2 p.m. NY)

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is moving the curfew back one hour to 11 p.m. local time starting Monday, after weeks of declining Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in Florida’s most populous county. Several outdoor spaces, including Zoo Miami and the Jungle Island theme park, will also reopen next week, Mayor Gimenez said Wednesday, speaking in a virtual press conference.

NYC Indoor Dining Returns on Sept. 30 (1:25 p.m. NY)

New York City restaurants can reopen for indoor dining at one quarter of their usual capacity on Sept. 30, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference in Manhattan. He said the city will field 400 inspectors to police them, and called on citizens to speak up about violations.

Vaccine Trial Halted After Spinal-Cord Issue: NIH (1:15 p.m. NY)

U.S. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins told a Senate committee Wednesday that AstraZeneca Plc’s closely watched Covid-19 vaccine trial had been halted due to a “spinal cord problem.”

The vaccine front-runner and its partner, the University of Oxford, stopped giving experimental shots after a person participating in one of their studies got sick, triggering a review of safety data.

Spanish Infections Near Four-Month High (1 p.m. NY)

Spain’s daily coronavirus infections climbed close to last week’s four-month high, as the country struggles to control fresh outbreaks.

There were 4,410 new cases in the past 24 hours, compared with 3,168 recorded Tuesday and taking the total to 543,379, according to Health Ministry data. That was near Friday’s increase of 4,503 but still well below the levels of around 8,000 seen at the height of the crisis in the spring.

Trump Admits Downplaying Virus (1 p.m. NY)

President Donald Trump admitted to author Bob Woodward that he deliberately minimized the danger of the novel coronavirus earlier this year, even though he knew at the time that the pathogen was deadly. “I wanted to always play it down,” the president said, according to excerpts from Woodward’s new book reported by the Washington Post.

Arizona Cases, Deaths Rebound (12:09 p.m. NY)

Arizona on Wednesday reported 496 new virus cases, a day after recording just 81, which was the lowest daily tally since March. The 0.2% increase on Wednesday, to 206,541, was just below the prior seven-day average of 0.3%. The state Department of Health Services reported 30 deaths, a day after recording two. The statewide death toll from Covid-19 now stands at 5,251.

Hungary Bans Hospital Visits (11:35 a.m. NY)

Hungary is banning visits at hospitals to curb the rapid spread of the virus. Authorities are also vowing to more strictly enforce the obligation to wear masks on trains and intercity buses. Those without masks can be taken off the vehicles. Similar measures have also been announced for city transport in Budapest.

Florida Deaths Jump; Cases Remain Stable (11:30 a.m. NY)

Florida posted 200 new Covid-19 deaths Wednesday among residents, the largest single-day increase in the three weeks, bringing the total to 12,115.

Deaths often trail infections by weeks, and generally take even longer to be reflected in the data. It wasn’t immediately clear when the newly reported deaths occurred, but the fatalities data had been moderating until Wednesday.

The state reported 652,148 Covid-19 cases, up 0.3% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 0.4% in the previous seven days. That’s a daily change of 2,056 new cases, according to the health department report, which includes data through Tuesday.

Portugal Coping With Infection Spike (11 a.m. NY)

Portugal on Wednesday reported the biggest daily increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases since April. There were 646 new infections in a day, taking the total to 61,541, the government said. Daily new cases have remained above 200 since the start of September and reached 486 on Saturday. The number of hospitalized cases fell.

The government expected the number of new cases would tend to increase with people returning from summer vacations, Secretary of State for Health Jamila Madeira said at a press conference in Lisbon on Wednesday.

Houston-Area Virus ICU Cases Drop to Lowest Since May (9:20 am NY)

The Houston metropolitan area’s census of virus patients requiring the most serious medical care dropped to 254 on Tuesday, the lowest since May 31, according to the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council.

Covid-19 patients occupy about 14% of the intensive-care unit wards in the nine-county region that includes Houston, the fourth-largest U.S. city, the group said on its website on Wednesday. The region’s ICU virus cases have fallen 74% since peaking on July 18 at 990 patients.

The easing load on the area’s hospital systems comes amid signals from Governor Greg Abbott that he plans to loosen restrictions on business and social activities in coming days.

Jakarta Brings Back Distancing Rules (9:08 a.m. NY)

Indonesia’s capital is bringing back restrictions on offices and restaurants as the number of new coronavirus cases continues to rise.

Jakarta will shut entertainment sites and places of worship, limit public transport, and require non-essential industries to have their employees work from home, Governor Anies Baswedan said in a briefing on Wednesday. He will coordinate with mayors of cities surrounding Jakarta to limit people’s movements.

Puerto Rico Reports Record Deaths (9:02 a.m. NY)

Puerto Rico’s Health Department reported 18 new deaths due to Covid-19 Wednesday, the largest single-day total since the pandemic began. Virus fatalities on the U.S. territory of 3.2 million people now stand at 500.

The new fatalities surpassed the previous record of 12 on Aug. 6. Those recorded on Wednesday may not have all occurred in the previous 24 hours, due to administrative time lags.

Singapore to Step Up Contact Tracing (7:13 a.m. NY)

Singapore will pilot contact tracing to enter selected venues using a mobile app or tokens provided by the government, an effort that may pave the way for larger gatherings.

“TraceTogether-only SafeEntry” may be expanded to include venues for groups like business meetings, the Ministry of Health said Wednesday. About 2.4 million people have downloaded the TraceTogether phone app, Vivian Balakrishnan, the minister of foreign affairs who’s charged with Singapore’s Smart Nation Initiative, told reporters at a briefing.

LVMH Pulls Out of Tiffany Deal (7:04 a.m. NY)

LVMH said it’s calling off a deal to buy Tiffany, citing delays to the proposed $16 billion agreement stemming from a U.S. move to impose tariffs on French goods. The Louis Vuitton owner’s retreat followed Tiffany’s move to push back the closing date from a previously set November target, according to a statement from the French luxury giant.

Tiffany countered with a lawsuit seeking to enforce the merger agreement. The French company has been seeking to leverage the U.S. protests against police brutality and the Covid-19 pandemic to seek a lower price, the jeweler said in a separate statement.

Czech Republic Requires Face Masks (6:18 a.m NY)

The Czech Republic ordered face masks be worn in all indoor spaces to curb Covid-19 as infections accelerate across eastern Europe.

New cases on Tuesday exceeded 1,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic, only about 200 fewer than in neighboring Germany, which has a population 8 times larger. The government in Prague has pledged to avoid a repeat of a nationwide lockdown.

EU in Vaccine Accord With Pfizer, BioNTech (6:03 a.m. NY)

The preliminary deal by the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, includes an option for a further 100 million doses, and follows similar accords with other drug companies and the signing of an actual contract last month with AstraZeneca for 300 million doses.

The EU didn’t disclose financial terms. Pfizer and BioNTech previously agreed to supply 120 million doses to Japan, while the U.S. in July reached a deal to pay $2 billion for an initial 100 million doses, with an option for 500 million more.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

With assistance from Bloomberg