Global Deaths Exceed 500,000, Cases Top 10 Million: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

Coronavirus deaths surpassed 500,000 worldwide and confirmed cases rose to more than 10 million, according to Johns Hopkins University data. U.S. and U.K. public health experts warned against lifting lockdowns too quickly and South Africa warned of a spike in its economic hub.

Florida, one of the U.S. states reinstating measures to halt the spread, reported a 6.4% increase in infections. Arizona topped its weekly average for a fourth day. California’s infection rate slowed. U.S. cases rose 1.7%.

Cases in Tokyo rose by 60 on Sunday, a daily record after Japan lifted a state of emergency last month. Israel is seeking to tighten restrictions on gatherings as cases soar following reopenings.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases top 10 million; deaths top 500,000
• Covid-19 cases hit 10 million as pandemic gains momentum
• Trump dismisses virus, polls and recession to tell winning story
• America’s shifting Covid-19 epidemic in five charts
• Texas governor hobbled Houston leaders, losing control of virus
• Second-generation vaccines are built for impact over speed
• Mass transit is returning but New Yorkers prefer cars for now

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.

WHO Reports Another High for Cases (4:45 p.m. NY)

The World Health Organization reported almost 190,000 new cases for the 24-hour period through early Sunday, a week after the previous one-day high.

Cases from the Americas accounted for 62% of the 189,077 new infections, followed by 13% from Southeast Asia and 8.8% from Europe, according to the report from the United Nations agency based in Geneva.

The U.S. and Brazil, together, represented 49% of all new infections. The WHO report showed 9.84 million cases, a total that lags behind tallies from John Hopkins University, which showed more than 10 million cases on Sunday.

U.S. Cases Up 1.7%, Above 7-Day Average (4 p.m. NY)

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased by 42,735 from the same time Saturday to 2.53 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The 1.7% increase was above the average daily rise of 1.5% over the past week. The total was less than the 45,450 reported on Saturday but above 40,000 for a third straight day.

Fatalities rose 0.3% to 125,709.

• New York reported 616 new cases, a 0.2% increase, for a total of 392,539, with five deaths -- the fewest since mid-March -- for a toll of 24,835.
• New Jersey registered 354 new cases, a 0.2% rise, pushing the total to 171,182, with 30 deaths, for a total of 13,121.
• California had 4,810 new cases, a 2.3% increase, bringing its total to 211,243, with 33 additional deaths, raising the toll to 5,905.
• Michigan added 314 cases, a 0.5% increase, for a total of 63,009, with deaths, bringing the total to 5,907.

DeSantis Cites Socializing for Cases (3:15 p.m. NY)

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said people in the 18-to-44 age group account for most of the rise in positive Covid-19 tests, with the 24-to-34 year old “by far” the leading group for new infections.

“It’s basically socializing,” DeSantis said at a Pensacola news conference as he dismissed suggestions the rise reflected opening the economy too soon. “Most of this is not because of people going to work, it’s because they’re being social.”

DeSantis said young people, who are at lower risk from the disease, should avoid gathering in large groups and then visiting restaurants or other venues where the infection can spread.

South Africa Issues Johannesburg-Area Warning (2:30 p.m.)

Infections in Gauteng province, South Africa’s economic hub that includes Johannesburg and Pretoria, will rise to the highest in the nation as more people return to work, the Health Ministry warned. Cluster outbreaks are expected at mines and factories and around public transport such as taxis and buses.

“We are extremely concerned that fatigue seems to have set in and South Africans are letting down their guard at a time when the spread of infection is surging,” the ministry said in a statement Sunday.

Cumulative infections rose to 138,134 with 6,334 new cases in the latest daily report. Another 43 people died of virus-related illness, bringing the toll to 2,456.

California’s Daily Infection Rate Slows (1:18 p.m.)

California’s daily cases increased by 2.3%, less than the 2.8% rolling seven-day average, according to state Department of Health data released Sunday. The agency reported 4,810 new infections and 33 additional deaths.

Arizona Cases Rise 5.5% (12:42 p.m. NY)

Arizona’s new cases increased by 3,858 to 73,908, a 5.5% increase that exceeded the prior week’s average of 4.4%, the state reported Sunday. Daily infections have exceeded the weekly average for four straight days. The number of deaths rose by 9 to 1,588.

Italy Daily Deaths Stable (12:30 p.m. NY)

Italy registered 174 new cases on Sunday, down from 175 on Saturday, the health ministry said. The agency reported 22 deaths in the past 24 hours, compared with eight on Saturday, bringing the total to 34,738. Since the pandemic began, Italy has reported 240,310 cases.

The Lombardy in norther Italy, near Milan, reported 97 new cases, or 56% of the national number.

Cuomo Fears Imported Infections (12:05 p.m. NY)

New York had the fewest daily deaths since the pandemic began in March, five on Saturday, as Governor Andrew Cuomo said he is now “afraid of the spread” from other states.

“We are one country and people travel and I’m afraid the infection rate in the other states will come back to New York and raise that rate again,” Cuomo said on NBC”s “Meet the Press.”

The governor said New York has plans to reopen schools, and the state will assess the infection rate and “what the disease is doing” before making a decision on a date. “If this continues across the country,” Cuomo said, “kids are going to be home for a long time.”

Portugal Has Larger Increase in Cases (11:50 a.m. NY)

Portugal reported 457 new cases on Sunday, up from 323 on Saturday and the biggest daily increase since May 8, taking the total to 41,646, the government said. Daily cases have ranged from 192 to 457 in June.

The additional cases are mostly in the greater Lisbon region, where authorities have tightened restrictions in 19 parishes and increased testing after new clusters were identified.

The total number of hospitalized patients rose by 16 to 458, while the total number of deaths rose by 3 to 1,564.

California Leads on Testing (11:30 a.m. NY)

U.S. testing for the coronavirus increased 2% to 30.4 million as of Saturday, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University; That’s above the 1.7% daily average of the past week. California reported the most tests, at 3.86 million or 9.8% of the population, while Idaho has tested just 4.7% of its population, the lowest rate in the nation. About 9.3% of the U.S. has been tested, based on Census Bureau estimates.

Florida Cases Jump 6.4% (10:40 a.m. NY)

Florida reported a total of 141,075 Covid-19 cases as of Sunday, up 6.4% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 5.1% in the previous seven days. The total number of new cases was 8,530 compared with the record 9,585 set Saturday.

Deaths among Florida residents reached 3,419, an increase of 0.9%, according to the report, which includes data through Saturday.

Pelosi Backs Mask Mandate (10 a.m. NY)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed having the government mandate the wearing of face masks or coverings to control the coronavirus, and she urged President Donald Trump to set a national example, noting “real men wear masks.”

“Be an example to the country and wear the mask,” Pelosi said on ABC’s “This Week.” “It’s not about protecting yourself. It’s about protecting others and their families.”

Pelosi said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention avoided demanding or requiring face coverings as part of U..S. guidelines because they didn’t want to offend the president.

Arkansas Pauses Next Phase of Reopening (9:30 a.m. NY)

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinison said the state has slowed the process of reopening its economy as new cases surface, and won’t move to the next phase until getting the current wave of infections under control.

“We are in effect on pause. We continue to move our economy, and that’s important to be able to go into the future, both handling the virus and living life.”

U.S. Cases to Keep Rising for Weeks: Frieden (9:16 a.m. NY)

Former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tom Frieden told Fox News that cases in the U.S. are going to continue rising for weeks. He dismissed the idea that surge is just a result of more testing.

“We’re all sick and tired of staying home,” he said. “But you know what? The virus is not tired of making us sick.”

Some states reopened too soon, an approach that will backfire, he added. “We are moving too fast,” Frieden said. “This is going to continue to get worse for weeks.”

U.K. Considers Local Lockdown (9 a.m. NY)

U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel said the government is considering putting Leicester under a local lockdown after an increase in coronavirus cases in the city, the BBC reported, citing an interview on the Andrew Marr show.

Leicester Mayor Peter Soulsby said there was “no immediate prospect” of a lockdown, the BBC reported, though about 25% of Leicester’s 2,494 confirmed Covid-19 cases were reported in the two weeks leading up to June 16, the day after non-essential retail shops reopened. Infections have been identified at a food-processing plant and in the community, the BBC said.

Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, said the U.K. is on a “knife edge,” particularly in England. At about 1,000 new cases a day, infections are too high to lift lockdown restrictions, he told the BBC. Pubs and restaurants are due to reopen on July 4. Cases reported Sunday rose by 901, to 311,151 with an additional 36 deaths. No new cases were reported in Scotland for a third day.

Daily Record in Tokyo: NHK (7:11 a.m. NY)

Reported cases in Tokyo rose by 60 on Sunday, public broadcaster NHK said, another daily record after Japan lifted the state of emergency last month. Sunday’s figure added to 57 infections reported on Saturday, and remains above 50-case daily mark which is a key threshold for Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. Total Tokyo cases are now at 6,114.

Second Sinopharm Vaccine Deemed Safe (6:17 a.m. NY)

The second vaccine developed by Sinopharm has been found to be safe and able to generate high concentrations of antibodies among participants in phase I and II clinical trials, according to a Weibo posting by Sinopharm Group on Sunday. Participants who got two shots at either three- or four-week intervals have generated neutralizing antibodies, a measurement of the vaccine’s ability to stimulate specific immune response to the coronavirus. The vaccine is jointly developed by Sinopharm’s Beijing research institute and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Iran to Mandate Face Masks in Public (6 a.m. NY)

Fatalities in Iran crossed 10,500 on Sunday as the country recorded 144 deaths from the virus overnight, its highest number of deaths in a single day since April 5. Known infections rose to 222,669 with 2,489 new cases in the past 24 hours, up slightly from 2,456 the day before.

The surge in the number of deaths came as Iran plans to make wearing face masks mandatory in indoor and crowded spots for two weeks starting July 5, President Hassan Rouhani said earlier Monday without elaborating on the punishment for violating the rule.

Netanyahu Seeks Tighter Restrictions (4:58 p.m. HK)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to tighten restrictions on public gatherings amid soaring cases in the country following the reopening of the economy. Cases jumped by 2.7% on Saturday, higher than the average 1.6% over the previous seven days. That’s the biggest daily increase since April.

“I said our policy will be like an accordion -- you open, and if you see that the illness returns and spreads, you close,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday. “This is not a zig-zag -- it’s the policy of any sane country, and that’s what we will do as well.” Netanyahu said he will bring the proposal to a ministerial committee later on Sunday.

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With assistance from Bloomberg