(Bloomberg) — Texas and Florida halted drinking at bars and Arizona reported a surge in infections as the U.S. copes with a worsening coronavirus outbreak, mostly in Sun Belt states whose governors were quick to reopen businesses over the past two months.
Vice President Mike Pence painted a reassuring picture amid a surge in U.S. cases, saying outbreaks are concentrated in a few areas and as more young people fall ill, more are likely to survive.
The European Union moved closer to recommending that travelers from the U.S. shouldn’t be allowed to enter the bloc after July 1. Tests of 302 NBA basketball players found 16 were positive, and they will be in isolation until cleared by a doctor.
Global Tracker: Cases top 9.6 million; deaths pass 490,000Meat shortages reopen costly path to small U.S. slaughterhousesCovid-19 is exacerbating the churn in retailing: QuickTakeVaccine plan to end pandemic’s worst phase to cost $18 BillionStrokes, altered mental states seen in some acute casesIn Silicon Valley, a $300 million bet on the return to officesFor Black Brazilians, virus is deepening painful inequalities
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White House Focusing on 16 States (12:55 p.m. NY)
The U.S. Coronavirus Task Force is focused on 16 states where new cases are rising, Vice President Mike Pence said in Washington, with the remaining states “reopening safely and responsibly and seeing low and steady cases and not seeing a rise.”
“We believe we’ve made progress but as we are reminded as we see cases rising across the South, that we still have work to do,” Pence said. The vice president said he will travel to Texas, Arizona and Florida, where cases are spiking.
Pence also noted about half the new cases are in Americans under the age of 35. “We know so far in this pandemic, that younger Americans are less susceptible to the serious outcomes of this virus,” he said.
Italy Schools to Reopen Sept 14 (12:45 p.m. NY)
Italian schools will reopen on Sept. 14 in “safety conditions,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said during a press conference on Friday.
Additional 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) investment on education expected, Conte said. The Italian plan for the European Recovery Fund will include a “chapter” on schools, Conte said.
United Restores China Flights (12:30 p.m. NY)
United Airlines Holdings Inc. plans twice-weekly flights between San Francisco and Shanghai via Seoul beginning July 8, restoring service halted in March by the virus. United also will reinstate service between Chicago and Tokyo, with new service to Haneda Airport.
Delta Air Lines this week said it will restart service between Seattle and Shanghai via Seoul on June 25, operating twice per week.
Cuomo Offers Aid to 3 States (12:15 p.m. NY)
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is offering help to Arizona, Texas and Florida — where cases are surging — as state hospitalizations drop to a low. Those states’ “course was incorrect,” he said.
“We are in position to provide equipment, staff, knowledge, ventilators, National Guard assistance, whatever they need,” Cuomo said on a call with reporters. “We are in good shape right now. I worry about it every day: caution, caution, caution.”
Cuomo said 1.3% of the state’s tests are coming back positive, the lowest rate in the country. At the height of the virus, New York had 50% positivity rate.
EU Moves Toward Barring U.S. Travelers (11:50 a.m. NY)
The European Union moved closer to recommending that travelers from the U.S. shouldn’t be allowed to enter the bloc after July 1, according to a draft list being considered by officials.
EU diplomats have mostly agreed that travelers from 18 countries, including Canada and South Korea, should be allowed into the EU because the domestic level of new Covid-19 cases meets the bloc’s criteria, according to a copy of the list seen by Bloomberg.
Twelve other countries are still being considered, according to the copy. The U.S. isn’t on the list. Discussion is continuing and the list could still change.
Florida Suspends Drinking at Bars (11:50 a.m. NY)
Florida suspended consumption of alcohol at bars across the state effective immediately, the state’s first major policy shift in response to a surge in Covid-19 cases this month.
The office of Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed the move in an email Friday.
Florida reported 122,960 Covid-19 cases on Friday, up 7.8% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 4.1% in the previous seven days. The one-day increase of 8,942 was the most ever.
Arizona Cases Jump 5.4% (11:35 a.m. NY)
Arizona’s new Covid-19 cases increased by 3,428 to 66,458, a 5.4% gain that exceeded the prior week’s daily average of 2.9%, the state reported Friday.
The number of deaths rose by 45 to 1,535.
Governor Doug Ducey said Thursday that hospitals are likely to hit surge capacity “very soon,” with the number of cases and hospitalizations expected to worsen in the next two weeks. Earlier in the day, the state reported the number of people admitted to hospitals had jumped by 183 to 2,453, the biggest single-day increase since the state began tracking the number.
NBA, Union Say 5.3% of Players Test Positive (11:30 a.m. NY)
The National Basketball Association and NBA Players Association announced 5.3% of players have tested positive for Covid-19 and will remain in isolation until meeting “public health protocols for discontinuing isolation” and are cleared by a doctor. Of 302 players tested, 16 were positive, according to a statement. The positive rate is slightly below the 6.1% national seven-day average, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Two Phoenix Suns players tested positive on Tuesday, the Arizona Republic reported. Since then players on the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets tested positive.
The NBA season is scheduled to restart July 31 in Orlando, with training camps opening July 11 at Walt Disney World.
Houston Area to Declare Highest Level of Emergency (11:10 a.m. NY)
Harris County, Texas, will declare a Level 1 emergency on Friday as the Covid-19 outbreak intensifies.
County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the highest-ranking county executive in the region that includes Houston, will make the declaration at a media briefing scheduled for 11 a.m. Central time, according to a person with knowledge of her plans who wasn’t authorized to discuss them publicly.
A Level 1 emergency is equivalent to a recommendation that residents stay at home as much as possible to prevent or slow the spread of the virus.
Florida Reports Most New Cases Ever (10:40 a.m. NY)
Florida reported 122,960 Covid-19 cases on Friday, up 7.8% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 4.1% in the previous seven days. The one-day increase of 8,942 was the most ever.
Deaths among Florida residents reached 3,366, an increase of 1.2%, according to the report, which includes data through Thursday.
Seen on a rolling seven-day basis, Florida’s new cases reached 33,212, the highest level ever, and about seven times the rate when the state started reopening on May 4.
Cumulative hospitalizations of Florida residents rose by 212, or 1.5%, to 13,987. On a rolling seven day-basis, they reached 1,213, the highest level since at least May 1.
The new rate of people testing positive for the first time climbed to 13.1% for Thursday, from 8.9% on Wednesday.
American to Sell Full Flights (10:15 a.m. NY)
American Airlines Group Inc. will sell flights to capacity starting on Wednesday, abandoning limits on passenger loads to promote social distancing just as the pandemic worsens in parts of the U.S. largely spared earlier this year. Customers will still be notified when they’re booked on crowded flights and can change to a different flight at no cost, the airline said in a statement. In addition, starting Tuesday, American will ask customers to certify that they have been free of Covid-19 symptoms for the previous 14 days.
United Airlines Holdings Inc. hasn’t guaranteed to block seats. By contrast, Delta Air Lines Inc. has said it will keep middle seats open through Sept. 30. Southwest Airlines Co. has committed to block middle seats unless customers are traveling together.
Texas Closes Bars as Cases Spike (10:05 a.m. NY)
Bars in Texas must close by noon local time under an order from Governor Greg Abbott after the Covid-19 positive-test rate surpassed 11%.
Under an executive order issued Friday, restaurants must limit occupancy to 50% effective June 29, and river-rafting businesses must close completely, according to a statement from the governor’s office. Abbott said the measures were intended to target activities linked to the surge in virus cases across the Lone Star state.
Manhattan Office Rents Likely to Tumble (9:50 a.m. NY)
Manhattan’s office rents are likely to plummet to an eight-year low if the U.S. economy doesn’t recover quickly from the pandemic. Asking rents could fall 26% to about $62.47 a square foot in a prolonged recession, real estate services firm Savills said in a report. That’s the lowest level since 2012, it said.
Some city offices have reopened, though many buildings are empty, and the city faces a long recovery with workers wary of public transit and dense workplaces.
“Many assume that when the stay-at-home measures are lifted, there will still be Covid-19 fears,” Savills said. “These fears will likely remain until a vaccine or antibody therapy is developed and widely available.”
Portugal Has Most New Cases Since May (9:18 a.m. NY)
Portugal reported 451 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the biggest increase since May 8, taking the total to 40,866, the government said. Health Minister Marta Temido said the situation in Portugal remained under control. Most new cases have been found in the greater Lisbon region, where authorities have tightened restrictions in some areas and increased testing after new clusters were identified.
Intu Collapse, Air France-KLM Bailout: Companies Roundup (9 a.m. NY)
British mall-owner Intu Properties Plc has collapsed into administration after failing to agree a reprieve from lenders. The company, which owns nine of the U.K’s top 20 malls, has applied to appoint three administrators from KMPG LLP, according to a statement on Friday. The shopping centers will continue to trade, it said.
Air France-KLM’s Dutch arm will get a 3.4-billion-euro ($3.8 billion) bailout from the Netherlands after weeks of wrangling over how much help the carrier needed to ride out the coronavirus crisis. The airline faces job cuts and environmental curbs on its operations in return for the rescue.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin plans a sale of shares as part of a slew of moves to shore up a balance sheet damaged by the coronavirus. The sale of almost 20% of its current equity comes on top of discussions to secure trade financing, the British carmaker said. And Swedish clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB is laying the groundwork for a debut issue of bonds after store closures and weak consumption due to the pandemic led to its first loss in at least a decade.
U.S. Consumer Spending Rebounded in May; Incomes Fell (8:55 a.m. NY)
U.S. consumer spending surged by a record in May — while remaining below pre-pandemic levels — as Americans spent relief payments and ventured out of their homes to newly reopened stores and restaurants.
Household outlays rose 8.2% from the prior month, the sharpest increase in more than six decades worth of data, after falling by the most on record in April, a Commerce Department report showed Friday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 9.3% jump.
Incomes declined 4.2%, just short of a record decrease, after posting the largest-ever increase in April that was driven mostly by household relief payments.
Trump Administration Eyes Testing Groups: Wash. Post (8:09 a.m. NY)
The Trump administration is considering testing people for coronavirus in groups, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Washington Post. Under this method, one test would be used on a pool of samples from several people. If it came back negative, researchers would move on to another pool. If it’s positive, then each individual in the sample gets tested. Fauci said the current approach isn’t working.
Biden Would Require Mask-Wearing If President (7:25 a.m. NY)
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said that if he were in the White House now, he would “insist” that everyone wear masks in public. Asked if he’d use executive actions to try to require behavior changes on masks, Biden said he would.
“I would do everything possible to make it required that people had to wear masks in public,” he said in an interview with CBS affiliate KDKA.
Spain to Extend Furlough Program (7:15 a.m. NY)
Spain’s government agreed to keep its furlough program in place through the end of September, an extension that ensures hundreds of thousands of workers maintain their jobs and a portion of their paychecks for at least several more months.The amplification of the plan provides a major financial reprieve for companies that will allow them to continue to bring more and more employees back to work as the economy shifts into recovery mode. Firms have been reincorporating tens of thousands of workers each day during the past weeks.
Trump Rally Drew People From Counties Experiencing Spikes (7 a.m. NY)
Mobile-phone location data from people who attended President Donald Trump’s rally in Oklahoma show that most came from outside Tulsa, hailing from at least 44 counties spread across 12 states. Covid-19 is on the rise in 33 of them.
Trump supporters traveled from across the Oklahoma region for the June 20 event, according to a Bloomberg analysis of data from SafeGraph. They didn’t fill the arena though and public health experts say the extra space may have lessened the risks of transmission.
Even so, it was far from a small gathering. Tulsa’s fire department estimated the crowd at the BOK Center numbered 6,200, making it the largest indoor event in the U.S. since March.
Bar for Bailouts ‘Exceptionally High,’ Sunak Says (6:05 a.m. NY)
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said he will set an “exceptionally high” bar for companies seeking taxpayer-funded bailouts during the coronavirus pandemic as he prepares to set out measures to revive the economy.
“This is not my money,” Sunak said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Friday. “It’s not the government’s money. This is taxpayers’ money. I shouldn’t be sitting here trying to pick winners.”
Sunak vowed to protect jobs as the nation emerges from a lockdown that’s plunged the economy into recession and left millions of workers depending on government support.
Crowded U.K. Beaches Stir Virus Concern (5:34 p.m. HK)
Summer heat saw crowds of daytrippers descend on U.K. coastal resorts, leading one southern town to declare a major incident and Health Secretary Matt Hancock to warn that he could close beaches to head off any potential new round of coronavirus cases.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Friday, Environment Secretary George Eustice denied the beach crowding was linked to the government’s decision to ease the lockdown next week, instead blaming hot weather that meant “a lot of people had the same idea.” “The British weather being what it is, perhaps this will be a short-lived phenomenon,” he said.
Germany Virus Tracing App Has 80% Success (5:07 p.m. HK)
Germany’s coronavirus tracing app is 80% accurate in showing whether a user comes within 2 meters of an infected person for 15 minutes, said Juergen Mueller, chief technology officer and head of data operations at SAP SE. The Corona-Warn-App is a joint project between SAP and telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG.
Rwanda Reinstates Lockdown in Parts of Capital (4:47 p.m. HK)
A fresh surge in coronavirus cases prompted Rwanda’s government to place six districts of the capital, Kigali, back under a strict lockdown. Kigali registered 21 new cases this month, the Ministry of Local Government said in a statement on Twitter. That brings the total to 850 cases and two deaths since the first case was diagnosed in March.
Rwanda last month eased one of Africa’s most stringent lockdowns while maintaining a night-time curfew as a precaution. Famed for its endangered mountain gorillas, the country has reopened tourism activities to visitors arriving on chartered flights on condition that they are confirmed to be virus-free 72 hours before arrival.
ECB’s Lagarde Warns of Complicated Recovery (4 p.m. HK)
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the recovery from the coronavirus crisis will be “restrained” and will change parts of the economy permanently.
While the worst might be over for global economy, it’ll take a time for the “phenomenal” jump in precautionary savings to trickle into higher investment and spending, she said. The recovery will be “incomplete” as trade is unlikely to return to pre-crisis levels and productivity may be weaker.
“We probably have passed the lowest point and I say that with some trepidation,” Lagarde said. “The airline industries, the hospitality industries, the entertainment industries are going to come out of that recovery process in a different shape, and some of them will probably be hurt irremediably.”
Russia Has Fewest New Cases Since April (3:45 p.m. HK)
Russia reported 6,800 new confirmed coronavirus infections over the past day, taking the total to 620,794, the lowest number of new cases since April 29. Another 176 people died over the past day, bringing total death toll to 8,781.
U.S. Infections Show Peak Still Ahead, German Minister Says (3 p.m. H.K.)
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said surging new infections in the U.S. show that the pandemic has yet to peak. “This is an urgent warning to us in Germany to remain vigilant,” Spahn said in a tweet. “Wherever the virus is given a chance it spreads.”
The coronavirus infection rate in Germany fell to the lowest in three weeks, while the number of new cases remained well below the level at the height of the outbreak. The reproduction factor — or R value — dropped to 0.59 on Thursday from 0.72 the previous day, according to the latest estimate by the country’s health body, the Robert Koch Institute.
Sweden’s Covid Expert Lashes Out at WHO (2:47 p.m. HK)
Sweden’s state epidemiologist has lashed out against the World Health Organization, accusing it of misinterpreting Covid-19 data and overstating the health risks his country faces.
Anders Tegnell, the architect of Sweden’s hands-off response to fighting the pandemic, said the WHO made a “total mistake” by putting the nation on a list that shows where “accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that, if left unchecked, will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe.” The list, which includes 11 countries, fails to take into consideration the nuances in Sweden’s approach to testing, according to Tegnell.
Sweden has one of the world’s highest Covid-19 mortality rates, with more deaths per 100,000 than the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University data. Still, at no point has Sweden’s Covid crisis overburdened its state-funded universal health-care system.
AstraZeneca in Talks to Supply Potential Vaccine to Japan (2:30 p.m. HK)
AstraZeneca Plc said it’s agreed to talks with the Japanese government on the supply of a coronavirus vaccine candidate it’s developing with Oxford University.
AstraZeneca will supply Daiichi Sankyo and Meiji Holdings group companies Meiji Seika Pharma and KM Biologics with undiluted solution, and the four companies will work together on vial filling, storage and delivery.
Southeast Asia Eyes Travel Bubbles (2:25 p.m. HK)
Malaysia is in talks with Singapore and Brunei to create “green lanes” for less restricted travel, as governments around the world seek to reopen their borders without a resurgence in coronavirus cases.
Thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-Ocha separately said in a speech at the Asean Summit that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations nations should consider travel agreements among those who are ready to create special channels for business travelers.
Trump Hails Falling Mortality Rate (11:55 a.m. HK)
U.S. President Donald Trump said “flare ups” of the coronavirus will be addressed as needed after data showed a record number of new cases in the country.
“Coronavirus deaths are way down,” Trump also said in a tweet hailing a decline in the mortality rate.
U.S. Breaks Two-Month-Old Record for New Cases (10:49 a.m. HK)
The resurgent coronavirus produced a record number of new cases in the U.S., topping the peak seen in April during the initial outbreak, after many Americans let down their guard on social distancing.
Total cases in the U.S. surpassed 2,418,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, marking the highest daily increase in more than two months.
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