U.S. Weekly Cases Surge; Tokyo Field Hospitals: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

U.S. weekly infections slightly exceeded 1 million on Friday, apparently for the first time since the surge last winter, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.

Officials in Australia and New Zealand, each battling rising infections, suggested the countries may need to shift their focus after pursuing so-called Covid-Zero strategies. Tokyo is considering converting some Olympic facilities into field hospitals as cases rise, the Sankei newspaper reported.

The U.K. will offer antibody testing kits to better understand how many vaccinated and previously infected people are still catching the disease. Thousands protested again in major French cities against government rules on proof of vaccination or a negative test for most public activities.

Key Developments:

Australia Should Focus on Hospitalizations: PM (9:03 a.m. HK)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the focus needs to move from Covid-19 case numbers to hospitalization rates. Fewer people in the country are getting seriously ill or dying even as cases have risen, he said.

“Rising cases need not impact our plan to reopen, and reopen as soon we can,” Morrison wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. “I know it seems pretty dark now, but it’s always darkest before the dawn, and dawn’s coming. So please hang in there.”

Australia reported 894 new cases on Saturday, its highest daily number.

Thailand Boosts Spending to Fight Virus (8:58 a.m. HK)

Thailand’s parliament approved the nation’s $93 billion annual budget that seeks to ramp up spending on tackling the Covid-19 outbreak while slashing outlays for defense and education. The nation reported 19,014 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the lowest daily infection in more than two weeks, and 233 fatalities. Total cumulative infection numbers rose to 1.05 million.

N.Z. Says Delta Raises Questions on Strategy (8:55 a.m. HK)

The delta variant of coronavirus is a big challenge for New Zealand’s elimination strategy and could force the government to rethink the way it responds to an outbreak, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said.

“With a virus that can be infectious within 24 hours of someone getting it, that does change the game a bit,” Hipkins said in an interview on TVNZ’s Q+A program. “With our Level Four lockdown, we are very well placed to be able to run it to ground, but we have to be prepared for the fact that we can’t do that every time there is one of these.”

New Zealand has been at the highest level of lockdown since Tuesday after a community case of coronavirus was discovered in Auckland. On Sunday, the country reported a further 21 local cases, bringing the total to 72.

Tokyo May Use Olympic Venues as Hospitals (8:16 a.m. HK)

The Tokyo metropolitan government is considering converting some Olympic facilities into field hospitals to treat coronavirus infections as cases in the country hit record levels, the Sankei newspaper reported, citing unidentified people.

Olympic venues are spread out throughout the city, which makes them convenient for emergency response, according to the report. Any changes would take place after the closing of the Paralympic Games on Sept. 5, it said.

Jesse Jackson, Wife in Hospital (7:58 a.m. HK)

Rev. Jesse Jackson, 79, and his wife Jacqueline, 77, have been hospitalized in Chicago with complications from Covid-19, the Associated Press reported, citing a statement from their son, Jonathan Jackson. Rev. Jackson is vaccinated and received his first dose publicly in January, AP said.

U.K. to Issue Antibody Test Kits (7:52 a.m. HK)

The U.K. will this week begin offering Covid-19 antibody testing to the general public for the first time, in order to better understand how many vaccinated and previously infected people are still catching the disease.

The kits will be made available to adults who book and return a positive Covid-19 test via the national test and trace app. The data may also reveal groups of people who don’t develop an immune response and provide insight into the effectiveness of vaccines against different virus variants.

There’s growing anecdotal evidence that fully vaccinated people are catching the virus, but few formal studies on these breakthrough infections. 

FDA Issues Warning on Animal Drug (5:50 p.m. NY)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a strong and unusual warning on Saturday: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”

The FDA was reacting to alarms from Mississippi, the state with the worst outbreak in the U.S., that people have been taking ivermectin to treat or prevent Covid-19. The drug is often used against parasites in livestock.

On Friday, Mississippi’s health department issued a warning that more than 70% of recent calls to the state’s poison center came after people took ivermectin bought at livestock supply centers.

California Cases Rise; One in 10 Infected (2:30 p.m. NY)

California added 13,613 new cases, bringing the total to 4.1 million. That means at least one in 10 people in the Golden State has been infected by the virus at some point of the pandemic.

It added 82 deaths for a total of 64,585. Hospitalizations have risen to the highest since early February, with the number of available ICU beds down to a 1,627, one of the lowest levels in six months.

In Los Angeles County, the total number of deaths surpassed 25,000 this week.

France Protests Continue (1:59 p.m. NY)

Thousands of people protested across major French cities against new government measures that make access to restaurants, museums and virtually all activities conditional on proof of vaccination or a recent negative test. It was the sixth consecutive weekend of protests.

President Emmanuel Macron, who is widely expected to seek re-election in April, is stepping up pressure against those who refuse to get vaccinated amid a spike in new infections. French overseas territories, where vaccination rates are lower, have been hardest hit by the virus’s fourth wave.

U.S. Shots Continue Momentum (12:41 p.m. NY)

Slightly more than 1 million doses were reported administered in the U.S. for the third consecutive day as vaccinations increase amid the delta variant surge. 

Cyrus Shahpar, the White House data director for Covid-19, said in a tweet that now 60% of people ages 12 and above are now fully vaccinated. Vaccinations had not gone above 1 million since early July, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.

U.S. Weekly Infections Exceed 1 Million (8:38 a.m. NY)

U.S. weekly infections slightly exceeded 1 million on Friday, apparently for the first time since the surge last winter, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. Two states, Florida and Texas, each hit hard by the spread of the delta variant, accounted for about a quarter of all cases.

Weekly cases in the U.S. rose above 1 million for about two and a half months during the worst of the last viral wave, from mid-November until the end of January, the data show. The high mark was above 1.7 million, in early January.

French Polynesia Will Shut Schools (6:24 a.m. NY)

French Polynesia President Edouard Fritch announced that all elementary and high schools in the archipelago will be closed for two weeks starting Monday amid efforts to mitigate an accelerating infection rate, AFP reported. 

Polynesia has France’s highest reported infection rate at 2,800 cases per 100,000 people.

Sri Lanka Locks Down Again (4:57 p.m. HK)

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered a 10-day nationwide lockdown on Friday evening to contain the surge in cases, Press Trust of India reported from a televised address.

Rajapaksa, who had earlier ignored calls for a shutdown even as virus cases overwhelmed hospitals, also warned of economic consequences of a prolonged shutdown. The government has reimposed the lockdown for the first time since mid-June.

Soccer Finals Accelerated U.K. Infections (4:20 p.m. HK)

Over 5,500 were likely infected by the virus during England’s semifinal and final matches at the European soccer championships, according to a report by the country’s public health authority. Data showed further spikes in positive test results across the country as England progressed through the tournament. 

The report said that while mass participation events can take place safely, extra care was needed where people would be close together for extended periods. The case numbers from the last two matches were particularly high because of the number of fans without tickets who showed up outside the stadium.

Korea Sees 50% Vaccinated by End-September (2:30 p.m. HK)

South Korea expects half of its population to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of September. The country has one of the lowest inoculation rates among major Asian economies, but the pace is picking up. 

“The progress is faster than expected,” President Moon Jae-in wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday, noting that over 50% of South Korean have received at least their first dose.

Victoria Expands Lockdown (11:05 a.m. HK)

The Australian state of Victoria expanded its lockdown beyond the city of Melbourne, starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday. State Premier Daniel Andrews also announced measures to slow the rate of transmission in young people, where the rates of infection continue to rise.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.