U.S. Cases Trend Up; German Troops Put on Standby: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

U.S. cases are trending up, with new infections in the week that ended Friday the highest in more than a month, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. 

German leaders made urgent calls for wider vaccine acceptance and put troops on standby to help the rollout of booster shots. The Netherlands is entering a partial lockdown, closing shops, bars and restaurants early for three weeks. 

In China, tens of thousands of university students are under lockdown on their campuses in the northeastern city of Dalian, which is battling the worst flareup in the country’s current outbreak. 

Key Developments:

Kaiser Permanente Strike Averted (12:32 p.m. NY)

Kaiser Permanente reached a tentative agreement with unions, averting what could have been the largest strike yet this year. The averted strike would have involved more than 30,000 workers from nurses and pharmacists to janitors and locksmiths.

The health-care company reached the agreement on a four-year contract covering 50,000 employees in 22 local unions, the Alliance of Health Care Unions said in a statement Saturday. 

Workers were planning to walk out of hospitals across mostly the U.S. West Coast on Monday morning, a move that could have disrupted a health-care system recovering from the damage of the Covid-19 pandemic and as U.S. hospitals confront a new wave of infections heading into the winter. 

Idaho Lawmakers Return to Fight Mandates (12:16 p.m. NY)

Idaho’s Republican-controlled legislature is coming out of recess on Monday to consider bills seeking to blunt federal vaccine mandates. Possible actions include a defense fund for businesses fighting mandates and exemptions to vaccine or mask rules, the Idaho Statesman reported.  

As in several other states, the legislature appears to be angering some in the business community, who say they don’t want another layer of government interference and that the issues will ultimately be decided in the courts. 

“Make no mistake that it is all for the purpose of scoring political points and appealing to a tiny philosophical fringe,” Alex LaBeau, president of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, wrote in a statement this week. 

Idaho is recovering from a sharp spike in infections and deaths that peaked last month.

Slovenian Hospitals Strained (10:47 a.m NY)

Slovenian hospitals are near a breaking point as numbers of patients in ICUs climbed to 225 on Saturday, the highest since the beginning of the epidemic in March 2020. With the vaccination campaign stalling at around 54% of citizens fully immunized, daily deaths hit 20 for the second time in a week, the most since February. Total deaths are 4,920.

U.S. Weekly Cases Accelerate (10 a.m. NY)

U.S. cases are trending up, with new infections in the week that ended Friday the highest in more than a month, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The outbreak has begun to accelerate in the Northeast, though has been worst in the Southwest, Rocky Mountains and upper Midwest states. 

Daily deaths also increased slightly in the week that ended Friday compared with the previous seven days, the data show. Overall, though, fatalities are almost 40% less than in early October. 

Manila to Stay Under Low Alert (9:35 a.m. NY)

The Philippines is keeping its loose restrictions in the Manila capital region until Nov. 30 as daily cases decline and vaccination picks up.

The capital, which accounts for a third of economic output, will remain under Alert Level 2, the second-lowest under a five-tiered system, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement on Saturday. Provinces near Metro Manila will also be under the same level.

Germany Puts 12,000 More Soldiers on Standby (6:15 a.m. NY)

Germany’s military is putting up to 12,000 more soldiers on standby to support hospitals and health officials overburdened by coronavirus cases, Der Spiegel reported. The military, which has been helping with Germany’s Covid response since the start of the pandemic, should also be available to assist with booster vaccinations and testing, the magazine said, citing a memo from a top armed forces official.

Lockdowns for unvaccinated people can’t be ruled out, according to Christian Lindner, in line to take over the finance ministry in Germany’s next government.  

“If enough people get inoculated, that’s our path out of the pandemic,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her regular podcast published Saturday.

The number of infections in Germany continued to rise at a near-record pace, with another 45,081 cases reported for the 24 hours through early Saturday. The RKI public-health institute also recorded another 228 deaths from Covid, taking the total to 97,617, while the seven-day incidence rate climbed to 277.4.

Iran Cases Slow (6 a.m. NY)

Iran’s daily new cases fell below 5,000 for the first time since June 7, at 4,306, the latest health ministry data showed. The country also recorded 124 deaths in the last 24 hours, in line with an average of 123 daily fatalities from the virus over the past seven days.

Nearly half of Iran’s population, or 42 million people, have received two vaccine doses so far as the country has started giving booster shots to people above 60.

Poland Offers Inducements for Booster Shots (5 p.m. HK)

Poland said vaccine certificates will be valid for a year after getting a booster shot as it struggles to to stave off the latest wave of infection. The move is aimed at promoting more vaccinations as hospitalizations rose to 13,000 Saturday, an increase of 702 people. Almost 14,300 new cases were reported.

Czech Cases Top 10,000 for Fourth Day (3:30 p.m. HK)

The Czech Republic had 14,199 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday, an increase by 5,000 from a week ago. The nation of 10.7 million has now reported new coronavirus cases above 10,000 for 4 straight days. The government will announce curbs on Monday, that may involve limiting of access for non-vaccinated people to some services and facilities.

China’s Dalian Locks Down Thousands of Students (12:15 p.m. HK)

Tens of thousands of university students are under lockdown on their campuses in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, which is battling the biggest flareup in the country’s current outbreak, according to newspaper Dushikuaibao.

Two universities in Zhuanghe in Dalian have imposed the curbs since the port city discovered Covid cases on Nov. 4, the report said, citing university students. Students are having online classes from their dormitories, the paper said.

Dalian has become the country’s latest hotspot, reporting 40 local cases on Saturday out of the 57 new infections added nationwide. The city’s authorities have urged people not to leave their homes to reduce transmission, and have halted operations at public venues deemed non-essential.

Thailand to Get More Moderna Doses (11 a.m. HK)

Thailand will get 1.4 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine later this month, having received an initial lot of 560,000 shots on Nov. 1. Increasing vaccination has helped to control the current coronavirus outbreak, with new infections falling on Saturday to 7,057 cases, compared with its peak of 20,000 cases in August.

The government expects to get 155.6 million doses of vaccine this year, above its initial estimate of 100 million. Authorities have set a new target for 80% or more of the population to get at least one dose by December, aiming for at least 70% to be fully vaccinated. 

Japan Seeks Future Emergency Clause in Constitution (8:40 a.m. HK)

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party aims to accelerate discussions to amend the nation’s constitution with an eye on giving more power to the government at a time of emergency, Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi told the Yomiuri newspaper. 

Japan’s constitution has never been amended. During the pandemic, Japan has largely relied on voluntary measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Nonetheless, it has seen by far the fewest deaths of countries in the G-7. 

U.S. Nursing Homes Can Receive Visitors (8:10 a.m. HK)

Nursing home residents can once again receive visitors inside the facilities whenever they want after the Biden administration lifted Covid-19 visitation restrictions Friday.

Noting the falling rates of nursing home infections as well as increasing staff vaccination rates, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said the time was right to let residents safely resume unrestricted visits.

Singapore Cases Rise From Day Earlier (8 a.m. HK)

Infections recorded in Singapore rose to 3,099 new cases as of noon on Nov. 12, compared to 2,396 on the day before, according to the Ministry of Health. Among the 3,093 cases, 2,965 were in the community and 128 were found in the migrant worker dormitories.

Cuba Eases Entry to Boost Tourism (3:56 p.m. NY)

The Cuban government is stripping away Covid-19 testing and quarantine requirements for incoming travelers to help jump-start a tourism-dependent economy drowning in raging inflation and shortages of basic goods.

Starting Monday, only tourists without proof of vaccination will need to show a negative PCR test.

“The government doesn’t have any other choice but to reopen -- the whole economy is focused on tourism,” said Carlos Alzugaray, an independent political analyst in Havana and a former diplomat. “They’re betting on tourism being the locomotive that will bring the economy back in force.”

Netherlands Locks Down Again (1:22 p.m. NY)

The Netherlands is entering a partial lockdown after Covid-19 infections hit records last week, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. 

“We have a very difficult message tonight combined with drastic measures,” Rutte said at a press conference in The Hague Friday. The country will enter a partial lockdown with bars and restaurants that need to shut down effective from Saturday 8 p.m., Rutte added. Non-essential shops must close at 6 p.m. and supermarkets may stay open until 8 p.m.

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