A medical worker cares for a Covid-19 patient in the Semi-Intensive Care Unit at Sao Paulo Hospital in Sao Paulo, on July 24, 2020.
Photographer: Jonne Roriz / Bloomberg
Photographer: Jonne Roriz / Bloomberg
We follow the latest on the coronavirus outbreak and the global response. Sign up here for our daily newsletter on what you need to know.
The Italian government reaffirmed its plan to reopen new schools as they try to prevent the damage caused by another lockdown.
Iran reported a decline in fresh infections, although travel for a public holiday may involve longer-term efforts.
Paris will wear an outdoor mask on its busiest streets on Monday, starting Monday to curb resistance in cases. A senior French official said the direct impact of the epidemic on the country’s key tourism sector will be at least 30 billion euros ($ 35 billion) up to 40 billion euros. Neighbor Belgium tried to stop people following the beaches in a heat wave.
Key Developments
- Global Tracker: Global cases top 19.6 million; deaths pass 727,000
- Trump ordered extension of unemployment benefits, reduction of payroll tax
- From Bourbon Street to food banks, signs of a slow recovery of the US
- Pandemic ships Doubts about long-term demand for metals
- Pandemic affects millions of Europeans path to a debt crisis
- Track de race for faxes that could end the coronavirus pandemic
Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team over here. Click on CVID on the terminal for worldwide data on cases and deaths of coronavirus.
Italy plans for open schools in September (06:15 NY)
The Minister of Health of Italy Roberto Speranza confirmed in an interview with Corriere della Sera the government’s plan to open all schools on 14 September.
Another lockdown would do “enormous damage, and we need to prevent it more than anything,” Speranza said in the interview.
Iran’s New Things Fall to Two-Month Low (6:06 PM in NY)
In Iran, the number of new cases of coronavirus fell in 24 hours to a two-month low of 2,020, bringing the total number of infections to 326,712. The death toll rose to 18,427 with 163 more deaths a day, up from 132 the day before.
The figures come at the end of a long weekend and a public holiday in the country where many Iranians are traveling through provinces, in what could cause a growth of infections in the coming weeks.
Belgium restricts beach visits; Infections slow (17:21 hrs HK)
Belgian authorities said on Sunday that 617 more people had been infected with coronavirus in the past 24 hours, compared to 768 the day before. Four more deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 9,870.
Several coastal towns banned one-day visitors on Sunday after scorching heat brought scores of Belgians to the beaches the day before.
The cases of Germany dive to week low; R-Value Up (16:43 hrs HK)
The number of new cases in Germany was at 707 the lowest in a week at 707. At the same time, the reproduction factor – as R-value -, a low indicator, increased to 1.32 on Saturday, the highest in three weeks, meaning 100 infected people are rumored to spread the disease to about 132 others. Local authorities may again be stricter after local outbreaks among harvest workers, at a canning company, and among returning travelers near the end of the summer break.
France influences tourism sector (16:36 hrs)
The direct impact of the epidemic on French tourism will be at least 30 billion euros to 40 billion euros, State Secretary Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne told the Journal du Dimanche. In normal times, the sector generates 180 billion euros in turnover, a third of international guests.
Infections increase in Eastern Europe (16.00 HK)
Ukraine reported 1,199 new cases Sunday with 18 dead, following a spike to 1,489 new registered infections Saturday, the highest daily number since the pandemic hit the country in March. Neighboring Hungary, which has portrayed itself as a relatively safer zone, reported 43 new cases Sunday, the highest since May.
Israel Coalition cancels cabinet meeting (15:53 hrs)
The crisis brewing between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main coalition partner deepened over the weekend, resulting in the rare cancellation of the cabinet’s weekly meeting.
Netanyahu’s Likud and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White are at odds over the proposed 8.5 billion shekel ($ 2.5 billion) addition to the government’s virus relief program.
Singapore sees 175 more cases (3:44 hrs HK)
An additional 175 cases were found in Singapore, the Ministry of Health has said in advance. The vast majority were related to quarantine work permit holders and workers were tested in previous days for sleep deprivation.
France Mandates Mask on Busy Paris Streets (3:23 pm HK)
Masks will be mandatory outside on Monday on the busiest streets of Paris, including the most tourist-heavy areas, according to local authorities.
The spread of the virus accelerated last week in France, infecting more and more young people. Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said the government had launched a program to distribute free masks to those in need and without resources.
The scientific council advising the government said wearing masks outdoors will eventually become the norm and called on the 20 largest cities to prepare for a potential new wave of confrontations.
Fire at India Virus Facility Kills Nine (12:29 pm HK)
At least nine people have died in a fire that broke out on Sunday at a coronavirus facility in the Indian state of Vijayawada in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Indian Express reported, according to police.
The blaze was sparked by an air-conditioning unit that was short-circuited on the ground floor of the Swarna Palace Hotel, according to the report. The hotel is rented by a private hospital to house Covid-19 patients.
The nation repeated a one-day spike of 64,399 cases, bringing the property tax to more than $ 2.1 million on Sunday, the health ministry said, according to PTI.
Victoria’s Records Records of Australia 394 new cases (10:38 hrs HK)
The number of new cases rose to 394, bringing the state’s total to 14,659, Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said in a media briefing in Melbourne on Sunday.
Singapore screens 11,000 amid new cluster (10:25 a.m. HK)
Singapore will have about 11,000 bus drivers and people working in depots in the next nine days after the creation of a new cluster, the Straits Times reported Sunday, citing the Ministry of Public Health and Land Transport.
Philippines needs $ 31.8 billion in stimulus (10:24 am HK)
The Philippines needs 1.56 trillion pesos ($ 31.8 billion) to help recover from a record economic contraction, according to a legislature.
A consolidated response is needed instead of a ‘piece of approach’, Stella Quimbo, co-chair of the House of Commons’ panel on economic stimulus, said in an interview Saturday. The focus should be on wage subsidies and low-interest loans for small businesses that employ more than 60% of Filipino workers, she said.
China reports 23 new cases, no deaths (9:51 AM HK)
Chinese health authority said it received reports of 23 newly confirmed cases on the mainland Saturday, including 15 that were transmitted locally, Xinhua news agency reported.
All local cases were reported in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the National Health Commission said, according to the news agency. No deaths related to the disease were reported Saturday, the commission said.
Mexico falls in top 475,000 amid 50% positive (9 hours HK)
Mexico reported 6,495 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total to 475,902, according to data released by the Ministry of Public Health. Deaths increased by 695 to 52,006.
Only 30% of UK people would definitely get vaccinated (8:26 am HK)
The UK will need more than just a simple communication campaign to ensure that people get a potential vaccine for coronavirus, after research showed that less than a third of the population would try to be completely inoculated.
A poll by King’s College London and Ipsos Mori released on Sunday showed British people skeptical of science and authority were more likely to say they would refuse a fax. While 43% said they would most likely or fairly likely get a vaccine if one became available, 16% said they probably would or would not, and 11% did not know.
Boxes in Vietnam stand up to 812 in the middle of Danang Outbreak (8:14 pm HK)
Vietnam reported 2 new infections, according to the Ministry of Health. The nation has confirmed 355 local infections since the outbreak in the coastal city of Danang on July 25. It has a total of 812 cases with 10 deaths. A day earlier, it had reported 21 new infections, 20 of which were related to Danang.
Texas Hits Record for Positive Tests (6:50 pm HK)
Texas’ seven-day positive test rate jumped to a record 19.4%, state health authorities said. The state Lone Star reported 247 new deaths to 8,343, while cases rose 6,959 to 481,483.
Brazil kills 100,000 dead, 3 million cases (5:36 pm NY)
Brazil topped 3 million coronavirus infections when the footprint of Covid-19 expanded, spreading misery from the beaches of Bahia to the soybean fields of the entire interior.
Cases in Brazil reached 2 million less than a month earlier. The country reported 49,970 new cases Saturday and 905 deaths, increasing the death toll to more than 100,000.
Trump Signs Unemployment Benefit, Taxes for Taxes (4:48 pm NY)
On Saturday, President Donald Trump took executive action to deliver extended unemployment benefits, a temporary reduction in payroll taxes, protection from exclusion and relief from student loans, as the pandemic continues to thwart an economic recovery.
Trump moved forward when the White House and Congress of Democrats kept vibrations of dollars apart over key issues, including aid to state governments and the amount of additional unemployment benefits.
The measures include Treasury authorization to allow companies to defer payroll taxes to Americans who make less than $ 100,000 a year, and provide $ 400 a week in extended unemployment benefits.
– With the help of Andras Gergely, Helene Fouquet, Malcolm Scott, Danielle Chaves, Justin Sink, Ros Krasny, Irina Vilcu, Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Volodymyr Verbyany, Jonas O Bergman, Richard Weiss, Alexander Weber, Maria Ermakova, and Arsalan Shahla
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