Trump Fundraiser Tests Positive; Baseball Returns: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

Spain put an agricultural region with more than 200,000 residents under lockdown after a coronavirus outbreak. Local measures were also implemented in Australia’s second-most populous state.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of Donald Trump’s eldest son and a senior fundraising official for the president’s re-election, tested positive for the coronavirus, the Trump campaign said.

India added more than 22,700 infections, the most in a day. U.S. cases rose 2.1%, higher than the seven-day average, with over 57,000 infections in 24 hours.

Key Developments:

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Spanish Region Locked Down (8 a.m. HK)

Spain’s Catalan government has put the Segria region and its capital Lleida under lockdown to contain an outbreak. The number of cases in the region of 210,000 has soared 20% in the past two weeks to 3,312. Four of nine outbreaks currently being monitored by authorities are associated to companies harvesting and processing fruit and vegetables.

The lockdown won’t impact the current harvest season, but Alba Verges, head of the regional department of health, called for agriculture workers to limit their social activities. The precarious conditions that these workers often live in make controlling the outbreaks more difficult, Verges said. These temporary workers, many of them African migrants, are often hired by the day, paid very low salaries and live in crowded spaces or even on the streets.

“We have taken exceptional public health measures in this region because the data makes us think that contagion is much greater than in the rest of the country,” Verges said. “Social activities need to be reduced, both in the number of meetings and in the number of people.”

Iran Soccer Players Positive (6:55 a.m. NY)

At least two dozen players and staff members in Iran’s professional soccer league tested positive, media reported on Saturday. The sport resumed behind closed doors on June 24 after nearly four months of suspension due to the pandemic.

Iran’s coronavirus fatalities surpassed 11,400 with 148 more deaths in the past 24 hours, down from 154 the day before. Total infections rose to 237,878 as the country recorded 2,449 new cases overnight compared with 2,566 on Friday.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said wearing face masks will become mandatory in government offices and banks from Sunday and employees will have to refuse service to people without a mask.

India Cases Rise by More Than 22,000 (4:50 p.m. HK)

Infections in the South Asian nation of 1.3 billion people rose to 648,315, including 18,655 deaths as of Saturday -- the world’s fourth-largest outbreak, according to the country’s health ministry. It recorded 22,771 fresh infections on Saturday, the highest increase in new cases so far.

India has set an ambitious timeline for its first potential vaccine -- from human trials to general use in six weeks. Bharat Biotech International Ltd., an unlisted Indian vaccine maker, got regulatory approval to start human clinical trials for its experimental shot earlier this week.

Europe Needs to Improve Preparations: Sanofi CEO (4 p.m. HK)

Europe needs to spend between 500 million euros ($562 million) and 1 billion euros a year to be prepared to face pandemics on its own, a relatively small sum compared with the spending under consideration to save economies, according to Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson.

“There is no pandemic preparedness in Europe,” he told an economics conference in Paris Saturday. “We can’t rely on the U.S. or China, they will follow their own path.”

Hudson stuck to the drugmaker’s target of having a Covid-19 vaccine next year, saying that it may be a little later than some of the estimated 100 other companies in the race.

“We’re the only company that is using a platform that has been used before and we feel very confident that we’ll be a little bit later -- first half of 2021 -- but that it’ll work,” he said. “I’m competitive but I’m happy to lose this race because if somebody gets there and can vaccinate everybody and people can get back to the new normal, that’s amazing.”

Russian Death Toll Exceeds 10,000 (3:50 p.m. HK)

Russia registered 168 new deaths from coronavirus, bringing the total to 10,027. Cases rose 6,632 or 1%, to 674,515.

Victoria Locks Down Towers With About 3,000 People (3:04 p.m. HK)

Australia’s second-most populous state ordered nine public-housing buildings with about 3,000 residents to be quarantined in an effort to contain coronavirus hot spots that led to a spike of new cases on Saturday, the state’s Premier Daniel Andrews said.

No one except returning residents would be allowed to enter the mid- and high-rise buildings for at least five days while authorities test everyone who lives in them, Andrews said at a press conference on Saturday afternoon.

The state’s toll spiked to 509 active cases on Saturday after a four-week lockdown was instituted earlier in the week across areas of Melbourne as the government attempts to contain the pandemic. The daily toll is the second-biggest increase in confirmed cases -– and the largest jump since March 28.

Tokyo Reports 131 New Cases, NHK Says (2:50 p.m. HK)

New coronavirus cases in Tokyo rose to 131 on Saturday, a third consecutive day of increases exceeding 100, public broadcaster NHK reported on its website, citing Tokyo government sources.

The figure hit 107 on Thursday, climbing above 100 for the first time since May 2, and increased further to 124 on Friday. NHK said the latest figure was the largest since the government lifted an emergency restriction on May 25.

Authorities have stressed there are no plans to call for business restrictions or implement another state of emergency. Officials said the current situation is different, as most of the infections are impacting people in their 20s and 30s, who are less likely to need hospitalization.

German Infection Rate Below Key Threshold (2:43 p.m. HK)

Germany’s coronavirus infection rate remained below the key threshold of 1.0 for a 10th day, while the number of new cases stayed far below the level at the height of the outbreak. There were 410 new cases in the 24 hours through Saturday morning, compared with 477 recorded the previous day, bringing the total to 196,780, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Trump Fundraiser Guilfoyle Tests Positive: NYT (11:41 a.m. HK)

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of President Trump’s eldest son and a top fundraising official for the Trump re-election campaign, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday before a Fourth of July event at Mount Rushmore, the New York Times reported, citing a person familiar with her condition.

Guilfoyle traveled to South Dakota with Donald Trump Jr. to attend a huge fireworks display where the president was set to speak. They didn’t travel on Air Force One, according to the person, and she was the only person in the group who tested positive, the paper said.

Those who come in close contact with the president are screened for the virus as protection, the paper said, adding that Guilfoyle is the third person in possible proximity to him known to have contracted the virus. She wasn’t experiencing symptoms, and along with Donald Trump Jr., never met up with the president’s entourage, the person familiar said. The couple plans to drive back from South Dakota to the East Coast, the person said.

Bolivia Digs Mass Graves as Coronavirus Deaths Surge: Reuters (11:06 a.m. HK)

Bolivians are digging mass graves across the nation as a surge in coronavirus deaths fills up cemeteries, Reuters reported Saturday, citing local funeral homes.

Bolivia has reported more than 35,500 cases of the virus and about 1,270 deaths from Covid-19, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Johns Hopkins. The city of Cochabamba has been hard hit, with back-hoes and trucks being used to open large pits to bury the dead, Reuters reported.

South Korea Reports 63 More Cases (09:34 a.m. HK)

South Korea on Saturday confirmed 63 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, raising the total tally to 13,030, according to data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. One more patient died from the disease, bringing the total death toll to 283. The nation reported the same number of new cases on Friday in the biggest gain in two weeks.

Mexico Cases Surge; Venezuela Reports 264 New Infections (08:17 a.m. HK)

Mexico reported 6,740 new confirmed Covid-19 cases, bringing the total to 245,251, according to data released by the Health Ministry Friday night. Deaths rose by 654 to 29,843.

Meanwhile, Venezuela reported 264 new cases, taking the total to 6,537, Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said. Two more people died due to coronavirus, for a total of 59 deaths.

Brazil Cases Rise 2.8%; Over 1,000 Pork Workers Tested Positive (6:30 a.m. HK)

Brazil reported 42,223 new cases on Friday, a 2.8% rise from the previous day, bringing the national total to more than 1.53 million, the state Health Ministry said. Deaths rose by 1,290, or 2.1%, for a total of 63,174. It was the most fatalities on a single day since June 23. Brazil has the second highest number of deaths and infections after the U.S.

Separately, according to figures from the Labor Prosecutor’s Office, more than 1,000 workers at a JBS SA pork plant in Brazil, or a quarter of those tested, were infected with Covid-19.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Tests Positive (5:40 p.m. NY)

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he tested positive for the coronavirus and has isolated himself, the latest senior politician sidelined by the virus, Press Trust of India reported. On Twitter, he said he felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined at home.

The country reported 4,087 new cases on Friday, a 1.9% rise from the previous day, to a total of 221,896, while deaths reached 4,551.

U.S. Case Rise 2.1% (4:10 p.m. NY)

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose by 57,271 from a day earlier to 2.77 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The 2.1% increase was higher than the average daily increase of 1.8% over the past week. Fatalities rose 0.6% to 129,192.

• New York reported 918 new coronavirus cases, up slightly from 875 the day before, but in line with the 0.2% seven-day average. The state reported 9 deaths. New total cases rose to 395,872.
• California reported a 2.3% increase in new cases, for a total of 248,235 as of Saturday. The state, which has been rolling back its reopening amid new outbreaks, also reported 100 more deaths, for a total of 6,263.
• Alabama posted 1,758 new cases and North Carolina 2,099 -- both single-day records. There were 22 deaths in Alabama, for a total of 983. North Carolina reported one new death for a total of 1,392.
• Florida reported a total 178,594 cases on Friday, up 5.6% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 5.8% in the previous seven days. Deaths among Florida residents reached 3,684, an increase of 1.9%.
• Arizona reported 4,433 new cases on Friday, a 5.1% increase from the previous day and higher than the seven-day average of 4.7%. Total cases reached 91,858. The state reported 31 new deaths, down from a record 88 on Wednesday, putting the total at 1,788.
• New Jersey reported 386 new cases, a 0.2% increase, bringing the total to 172,742, with 58 deaths for a toll of 13,308.

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