U.S. Curve Points Up and France’s Cases Hit Record: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- France reported record new Covid-19 cases for the second day in a row, adding almost 27,000 infections. U.S. cases increased by 57,459, the most in more than two weeks, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.

President Donald Trump made his first public appearance since being hospitalized for Covid-19, telling supporters at the White House that “the power of American science and medicine” will eradicate the virus he blamed on China. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who helped prepare Trump for last month’s presidential debate, left the hospital after a week.

Germany confirmed the most daily virus-related deaths since May.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: cases 36.9 million; deaths near 1.07 million
• Covid’s comeback is bigger but less deadly, at least for now
• Trump hurdles to stimulus rise, Pelosi says offer ‘insufficient’
• European leaders impose targeted restrictions in new virus surge
• English Covid-19 hospitalizations near levels seen at start of March lockdown

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.

French Cases Hit Record for Second Day (4:12 p.m. NY)

France reported 26,896 new infections, the second consecutive day of record cases after about 20,000 on Friday. Deaths increased by 54 to 32,684, according to the government health agency.

The positive-test rate increased to 11% from 10.4% on Friday.

California Rolling Averages Remain Low (2:45 p.m. NY)

California added 4,170 new cases, bringing the total to 842,776, and reported 72 new deaths blamed on the virus. The death toll rose to 16,500.

The 14-day rolling averages for cases and deaths are at some of the lowest levels in more than three months.

Ireland’s Cases Most Since Mid-April (1:40 p.m. NY)

Ireland reported 1,012 new cases, the most since April 15 and the third-biggest number on record.

The positivity rate, which has more than doubled in the last two weeks, jumped to 6.2%, the Health Ministry reported. Another five people died from virus-related causes.

“All the important indicators of the disease are deteriorating,” chief medical officer Tony Holohan said. The 14 day incidence of confirmed cases has jumped to 150 per 100,000 people compared to 108 a week ago.

New York Cases Remain Elevated (12:58 p.m. NY)

New York reported 1,447 cases, in line with recent elevated daily increases as the state began cracking down on hot spots in New York City and upstate. Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday those hot spots account for 2.8% of the state’s population but 18% of all cases reported this week.

Earlier this week, the governor ordered schools and non-essential businesses closed for at least two weeks in parts of Brooklyn and Queens and in Orange and Rockland counties.

He said in a statement that the outbreaks are local and that overall New York’s numbers “remain good news.” But, he added, “It’s going to take the work of all of us now to make sure we don’t go backwards on our hard-fought progress.”

Ontario Cases Slow After Record (11:29 a.m. NY)

Ontario’s new cases declined to 809 on Friday from a record 939 a day earlier, according to the public health agency.

Further restrictions by the government of Canada’s most populous province are taking effect Saturday in Toronto, Ottawa and the Peel suburban region west of Toronto.

Italy Cases Surge for Fifth Day in a Row (11:08 a.m. NY)

Italy’s new cases climbed for a fifth day, reaching 5,724, the most since late March. That’s well above the previous seven-day average of 3,409. Daily testing hit a record and the positivity rate climbed to 4.3%, the highest since April.

There were 29 Covid-19 related deaths, as patients in intensive care units rose by 3 to 390, still far below the peak of about 4,000 in early April. Italy’s government is set to further reinforce measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic amid cases resurgence.

Netherlands Hits Record Cases (11:05 a.m. NY)

The Netherlands reported 6,504 cases, a daily record and rising above 6,000 for the first time, according to Dutch news agency ANP. More than 36,000 new infections have been reported in the past seven days, the report said.

A total of 1,190 people are now hospitalized, up from 1,139 Friday while the number of people on the intensive care dropped by four to 235, the report said.

The Dutch government is meeting Sunday to discuss stricter measures to combat the spreading of the virus.

Myanmar Reports Record Cases (10:44 a.m. NY)

Myanmar recorded 2,158 new cases and 32 fatalities on Saturday, the highest single-day spike of infections, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports. The majority of newly-infected people are from Yangon, the nation’s commercial hub. As of Saturday, nation has reported 26,064 cases in total, including 7,050 recoveries and 598 fatalities.

U.S. Testing Plan Aims to Open New York-London Travel (10:42 a.m. NY)

U.S. officials are looking to open travel between New York City and London with shortened traveler quarantine periods as soon as the holidays, Dow Jones reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Officials at the U.S. Transportation Department, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies have considered the increasing availability of Covid-19 tests in the U.S. as an opening path to implementing safe travel corridors between the country and international destinations.

A Homeland Security official told Dow Jones that the agency’s work was in its early stages as it seeks to safely encourage transatlantic travel while considering public-health risks.

Former New Jersey Governor Leaves Hospital (10:10 a.m. NY)

Chris Christie said he was released from the hospital Saturday, a week after he checked as “precautionary measure” after testing positive for Covid-19, the former New Jersey governor said on Twitter.

The two-term Republican governor, who has a history of obesity and chronic asthma, entered Morristown Medical Center on Oct. 3. He recently participated in President Donald Trump’s preparations for his first TV debate with Democrat challenger Joe Biden.

Christie, 58, also attended the White House Rose Garden event announcing the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

U.S. Cases Continue to Tick Up (9.40 a.m. NY)

U.S. infections continued their upward trend. Another 57,459 cases were reported Friday, an 0.8% rise compared with the average 0.6% increase in the previous seven days, according to Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.

It was also the highest daily increase since Sept. 22, and the second highest since the June-August surge in the Sun Belt. Another 1,000 people died, the most since Sept. 23. The total death toll is 213,739.

Portugal Records Record Increase in Daily Infections (9.30 a.m. NY)

Portugal on Saturday reported the biggest daily increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases since the start of the outbreak, according to government data.

There were 1,646 new cases in a day, more than the 1,394 reported on Friday, and taking the total to 85,574. The number of patients in intensive care units fell by 3 to 122, a level that’s less than half of the peak reached in April

EU Official Tests Positive for Coronavirus (9.25 a.m. NY)

EU Innovation and Research Commissioner Mariya Gabriel has tested positive for the coronavirus, she said in a post on Twitter Saturday. She is the first member of Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission to confirm a positive coronavirus result.

Earlier this week, European Commission President von der Leyen tested negative after self-isolating following contact with someone who tested positive. Several other European commissioners are in self-isolation due to an encounter with a person who had the virus.

English City Mayors Resist Revised Jobs Program (9:20 a.m. NY)

The mayors of some of northern England’s biggest cities have called on members of parliament to reject the U.K. government’s revised support package for areas hit by local lockdowns.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said government proposals to offer hospitality workers two-thirds of their wages if they are forced to close were a recipe for mass unemployment and risked plunging thousands of low-paid bar and restaurant workers into poverty.

The government’s revised support measures are less generous than the national furlough program unveiled at the start of lockdown that originally offered to pay 80% of workers wages.

Poland Imposes New Restrictions (9:00 a.m. NY)

Poland imposed special shopping hours for the elderly starting Oct. 15 following a record rate of new infections, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference in Warsaw on Saturday.

Poland reported 5,300 new Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours, according to data published on Saturday. That takes the total number of infected to 121,638 with the death toll rising by 53 to 2,972. Poles are obliged to wear masks in public as of today.

Iran Daily Deaths Fall a Third Day (7:35 a.m. NY)

The number of daily deaths in Iran fell for a third day to 195, retreating from a record 239 fatalities reported three days ago. The number of daily new cases rose by 3,875, after 4,142 a day earlier.

The country’s death toll reached 28,293 from 496,253 known infections, with 4,439 patients in critical condition.

Malaysia Tightens Local Restrictions (7:30 a.m. NY)

Malaysia reported 374 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian nation to 15,096.

The country’s government is tightening lockdowns in specific areas where infections are rising, shutting schools in the Borneo state of Sabah and a shopping mall in the Selangor state.

Madrid Imposes Restrictions on Four Communities (7:10 a.m. NY)

The region of Madrid’s local government ordered restrictions of movement on four communities on Saturday, as its fight with the national government about how to tackle a surge in Covid-19 infections continues.

The zones, which are outside the city, weren’t previously affected by a state of emergency imposed on Madrid by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government.

The national government’s declaration on Friday for several communities within the region was made to override a court order that ruled the restrictions unconstitutional. The local government had preferred a more piecemeal approach, breaking down infected areas into zones covered by local clinics.

English Hospitalizations at Levels From Start of Lockdown (5:30 a.m. NY)

The number of patients with Covid-19 in English hospitals has reached almost the same level as late March when the country’s lockdown was announced.

There are now 3,090 patients being treated for the coronavirus in English hospitals, a 50% jump on a week earlier, according to data published Friday. The number is just seven short of the total Covid hospitalizations on March 23, the day the country’s stay-in-place order came into effect.

Germany Records Most Virus Deaths Since May (3:35 p.m. HK)

Germany recorded 4,554 new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours through Saturday, the third-straight day the number topped 4,000.

The country also registered 64 new deaths from the virus, the highest since May. The reproduction rate, known as R-0, climbed to 1.34 on Friday from 1.17 a day earlier. The gauge has remained above the key threshold of 1 for a week amid surges in the number of new infections in multiple German cities.

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With assistance from Bloomberg