Vaccines Awaited; Italy Approves Stimulus: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

Vaccines are likely to begin rolling out in the U.S. before the end of December, according to Surgeon General Jerome Adams and Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist. The U.K. said it hopes to begin its own vaccination program before Christmas.

Italy’s government approved a fourth stimulus package to support businesses hit by the latest restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Outbreaks from the U.K. to Russia showed signs of slowing.

New York City public schools will begin reopening on Dec. 7, while on the other side of the world Hong Kong said it will suspend face-to-face classes at kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. The Asian city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, reportedly sees room for tougher measures as cases rise.

Key Developments:

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Vaccine to Cost Poland 5 Billion Zloty: Dziennik (2:49 p.m. HK)

Poland sees vaccine purchase and distribution costs at a minimum of 5 billion zloty ($1.3 billion), Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported, without saying where it got the information. The government plans to vaccinate about half of the 38 million population by mid-2021. The vaccine will be free of charge.

Italy Approves New Stimulus Package (2:46 p.m. HK)

Italy’s government has approved a fourth stimulus package to support businesses hit by the latest restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The package is worth 8 billion euros ($9.6 billion), according to a statement published Monday. It delays tax deadlines for companies and expands cash handouts for workers in tourism and the arts, which have been severely disrupted by the pandemic.

Canada’s Trudeau Ready to Open Spending Taps (2:42 p.m. HK)

Justin Trudeau will deliver another dose of stimulus to shore up an economic recovery that’s starting to creak amid a second wave of Covid-19 in Canada. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to announce billions of additional funding in a fiscal update Monday, with dozens of new measures that could include topping up existing benefits to families and business along with teeing up money for infrastructure, daycare and climate change.

Support for Japan’s Suga Slides as Virus Wave Worsens (1:11 p.m. HK)

Support for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government slid for the second straight month, as the premier struggled to balance controlling the country’s worst-yet coronavirus outbreak with shoring up the economy. The premier’s support fell five percentage points to 58% -- a new low -- in a survey carried out by the Nikkei newspaper and TV Tokyo between Nov. 27-29. About 48% of respondents said they disapproved of his government’s handling of the virus, up from 35% a month earlier, the survey showed.

Tokyo reported 311 new cases on Monday, with serious cases in the city totaling 70.

Vietnam to Test Food Imports, Australia Says (11:50 a.m. HK)

Vietnam has asked local agencies and authorities to apply control measures on food imported from countries affected by the pandemic, the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment said in an industry notice.

The measures -- which will apply especially to frozen food -- may include carrying out sample testing on packaging. The department said transmission of the virus through food products and packaging “is unlikely,” citing advice from the World Health Organization.

Indonesia Leader Seeks to Step Up Measures (11:30 a.m. HK)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered the home minister to warn local leaders to step up health protocol enforcement. Movement restrictions in cities bordering Jakarta were extended until Dec. 23, the head of West Java Task Force Daud Achmad said in a statement.

The government confirmed 6,267 new cases in the 24 hours through midday Sunday, the most since the outbreak began, with Central Java accounting for a third of them.

Taiwan Adds Most Imported Cases Since March (10:26 a.m. HK)

Taiwan added 24 imported Covid-19 cases, the biggest daily increase since March 23, according to Bloomberg data. The government will hold a briefing on 24 new imported cases later Monday, according to a text message from Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. Taiwan hasn’t recorded any community transmission of Covid-19 since April 12, according to Bloomberg’s calculations.

England Lockdown Cuts Virus Cases 30%, Study Shows (8:15 a.m. HK)

Cases of coronavirus in England fell 30% after lockdown measures were rolled out in November, according to a study by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI U.K. Ltd. The findings show cases were rising as the country entered a four-week lockdown on Nov. 5 and that a sharp decrease followed as national restrictions were rolled out, according to the report published on Monday.

H.K.’s Lam Wants Tougher Measures: SCMP (7:40 a.m. HK)

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam sees room for tougher measures on people and businesses to control the coronavirus epidemic, the South China Morning Post reported, citing Lam in an interview. “Having seen what we have seen in this latest wave, I do feel quite strongly that this is a time really to get tough,” Lam said.

Cyprus Central Bank Governor Tests Positive (4:26 p.m. NY)

Central Bank of Cyprus Governor Constantinos Herodotou has been tested positive for the Covid-19. “I remain under restriction and will work normally from home, adhering to all relevant protocols,” Herodotou said in a Twitter post.

California Cases Rise, Push 14-Day Average to Record (3:22 p.m. NY)

California reported 15,614 new cases, pushing the 14-day average to a record. The total number of infections in the state now stands at almost 1.2 million. Another 32 new deaths were reported, with fatalities at 19,121.

Test positivity reached 6.1%, the highest since the end of August. The state’s two most prominent cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco, imposed new curbs in the past two days as cases surged.

Gottlieb Argues for Shorter Quarantines (2:50 p.m. NY)

Appearing Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Scott Gottlieb said he thought it would be “prudent” if federal health officials reduced the recommended quarantine time from 14 days to 10 or even 7 days for people exposed to those carrying the virus.

Admiral Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, said Nov. 24 that officials are considering shortening that recommendation for people who test negative for the virus.

France’s Pace of Cases Falls to Lowest in Eight Weeks (2:43 p.m. NY)

France added 9,784 cases, with the seven-day average falling to 11,1182, the lowest since Oct. 2. The rate of positive tests fell to 11.1%, just over half of where it was in early November. The number of patients in intensive care continued to decline from a peak almost two weeks ago. Deaths linked to the virus increased by 198 to 52,325, the smallest daily increase in a month.

NYC Schools to Begin Reopening Despite Virus Level (11:56 a.m. NY)

Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York City schools will begin the process of reopening on Dec. 7, despite the 3% positive test rate for Covid-19 he had set for closing the schools.

He said the reopening would begin with pre-kindergarten classes through elementary school. Special education would begin three days later. He said the city “is just not ready” to begin opening middle and high schools.

He shut the schools on Nov. 19 after the city positive test rate rose above 3%, the level set earlier this year for shuttering schools again.

Italy Outbreak Continues to Slow (11:26 a.m. NY)

Italy reported on Sunday 541 virus deaths on 20,648 new daily cases, in a declining trend compared with the previous day. The number of patients in intensive care units across the country continued to fall for the fourth day, while the total number of hospitalized patients fell for the sixth day.

U.K. Cases, Deaths Moderate (11:17 a.m. NY)

The U.K. reported new cases and deaths that were below the weekly averages as England plans to emerge from a monthlong lockdown on Wednesday. Another 12,155 infections were reported, below the average of more than 16,000 over the past seven days. Deaths rose by 215, less than half the weekly average of 487. Numbers are often lower on the weekends due to reporting delays.

Vaccine in U.S. Likely by Year End, Top Doctors Say (9:52 a.m. NY)

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said the federal government hopes to quickly review and approve requests from two drug makers for emergency approval of their Covid-19 vaccines.

Pfizer Inc. is scheduled to submit an Emergency Use Authorization request on Dec. 10 for the vaccine it developed with Germany’s BioNTech, followed by Moderna on Dec. 18, Adams said.

On ABC’s “This Week,” the top U.S. infectious diseases specialist Anthony Fauci said vaccines would likely roll out in the middle to end of December. He told Chuck Todd on NBC, however, that “it’s going to be months” for children and pregnant women because vaccine efficacy needs to be established.

German Cases Falling Too Slowly for Christmas: Official (8:40 a.m. NY)

The premier of Germany’s most populous state said cases in the country were falling too slowly, and Christmas celebrations could trigger a new flare up. “So long as we don’t have the vaccine distributed, we need to be careful,” Armin Laschet, leader of the North Rhine-Westphalia region said in an interview with radio station Deutschlandfunk. Laschet also called on Germans not to go skiing this year, even if neighboring Austria decides to keep its resorts open.

U.K. Seeks to Roll Out Vaccinations by Christmas (7:55 a.m. NY)

The U.K. government hopes to begin rolling out vaccination program before Christmas if regulators approve the shots in time, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. “We hope, subject to the regulatory approvals, to be in a position to be able to have rolled out the vaccine sufficiently by, say, the spring to enable us to have a big change in the way we approach things,” Raab told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.

Peter Openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London and a government adviser, said he would be “surprised” if a vaccine becomes available as soon as next week. An announcement that a vaccine has been approved for use could come within the next two weeks, he said.

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