Florida Cases Jump by Single-Day Record: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

The World Health Organization reported the highest daily number of coronavirus cases yet, led by the Americas. Infections in Florida increased by the most in a single day. Spain locked down a farming region with more than 200,000 residents after a coronavirus outbreak.

Italy reported an above-average increase in cases and India counted more than 22,700 new infections, the most in a day.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of Donald Trump’s eldest son and a senior fundraising official for the president’s re-election, tested positive for Covid-19, the Trump campaign said.

Key Developments:

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WHO Reports Most New Cases for a Day (12:25 p.m. NY)

The World Health Organization reported a record 212,326 new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours ended early Saturday, the first infection total to top 200,000. The WHO has reported more than 163,000 new cases every day for the past week, led by a rise in the Americas.

The Americas region -- chiefly the U.S. and Brazil -- account for 61% of all new cases, followed by Southeast Asia, which made up 12% of the daily infections. Europe, once an epicenter for the outbreak, represented 9.3%, the WHO daily report showed. Cases in the U.S. and Brazil were 48% of the global total.

The Americas make up 51% of all cases, or 5.58 million of 10.92 million, followed by Europe with 25% and the Eastern Mediterranean, including the Middle East, with 10%. The WHO total often lags behind tallies from John Hopkins University, which showed 11.13 million cases as of midday Saturday.

Italy’s Infection Pace, Deaths Edge Higher (11:45 a.m. NY)

Italy, Europe’s first pandemic epicenter, reported 21 new virus-related deaths on Saturday, compared with 15 a day earlier, raising the country’s toll to 34,854, according to the Health Ministry. New cases increased by 235, more than the previous seven-day average of 175.

Arizona Cases Rise Less Than 7-Day Average (11:20 a.m. NY)

Arizona reported 2,695 new cases on Saturday, a 2.9% rise from a day earlier but less than the record set Wednesday. Cases have been rising at a 4.4% rate over the past seven days and now stand at 94,553. The state had 4,878 new cases on Wednesday, the most for a day.

The state reported 17 new deaths, down from a record 88 on Wednesday, putting the total at 1,805.

New York Hospitalizations Decline (11:10 a.m. NY)

New York reported fewer hospitalizations and new admissions as cases climbed by 726, or 0.2%, according to the state health department website, a rate consistent with most days since the middle of June.

The state had 844 patients in hospitals, 13 fewer than on the previous day, with 63 admissions, a drop of 10 from Thursday. Of all tests on Friday, 1.16% were positive, down from 1.38% a day earlier.

Sports Agent Bullish on Baseball Safety (11:10 a.m. NY)

Sports agent Scott Boras, who represents some of the highest-paid professional baseball players, said he’s convinced games can safely return this month without fans, even as Covid-19 cases surge. In an interview, Boras cited the experience of Korea, Japan and Taiwan, where games were played without hospitalizations.

Four players have decided to sit out the year and on Friday the game’s biggest star, Mike Trout, said he’s concerned about playing with his wife pregnant. Thirty-one players and seven staff members tested positive for Covid-19, according to an announcement from Major League Baseball and the players union. That was 1.2% of the total 3,185 samples, a rate lower than 5% of players reported by the National Basketball Association in its initial round of testing.

Florida Cases Surge By Record (10:35 a.m. NY)

Florida reported 190,052 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, up 6.4% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 5.5% in the previous seven days. Deaths among Florida residents reached 3,702, an increase of 0.5%, according to the report, which includes data through Friday. The increase in infections was 11,459, the most for a single day.

Cumulative hospitalizations of Florida residents rose by 244, or 1.6%, to 3,702. The rate of people testing positive for the first time fell to 14.1% for Friday, from 14.9% a day earlier.

Portugal Reports More Cases, Mostly in Lisbon Region (10 a.m. NY)

Portugal reported 413 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, up from 374 on Friday, taking the total to 43,569. Daily new cases have ranged between 192 and 457 since the start of 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.

Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva on Friday called a U.K. requirement that travelers quarantine when they arrive in England from Portugal “absurd,” citing a higher number of deaths in Britain due to the pandemic.

Half of Population May Reject Vaccine: Telegraph (8:16 a.m. NY)

As much as 50% of the population in countries including the U.S., Germany and Czech Republic may not get any vaccine that’s developed, the Telegraph reported. Experts estimate at least 70% of people must get a vaccine in order to stop coronavirus, according to the paper.

“It’s going to be a challenge, particularly because in general, populations are more anxious about new vaccines and that’s understandable,” Heidi Larson, anthropologist and director of the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told the paper. “But the good news is we do have time before we, hopefully, get a vaccine, so I think that we have to use that.”

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

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 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 make us think that contagion is much greater than in the rest of the country,” Verges said.

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.

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.

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