(Bloomberg) — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence self-isolated this weekend following a positive coronavirus test by his press secretary, while three members of the White House task force are in quarantine.
Global cases topped 4 million, though the situation improved in Europe, with France and Italy among countries reporting the lowest fatalities since March. The U.K. outlined plans to ease a lockdown.
South Korea is seeing a flare-up in cases tied to nightclubs in Seoul. China put a city near the North Korea border under lockdown due to an increase in infections, raising more questions about an outbreak in the isolated country. Shanghai Disneyland reopened, in one of the largest tests of whether mass gatherings can take place safely.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 4.1 million; deaths exceed 282,000
- Trump urges U.S. back to work while combating in-house outbreak
- What we don’t know about coronavirus origins might kill us
- Confidence called key for post-Covid economy
- India reopens economy but millions of workers stay home
- Chinese city in northeast closed as infections rise
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Outbreak Near North Korea Border Raises Questions (11:08 a.m. HK)
China put a city near the North Korea border under lockdown due to an increase in coronavirus infections, raising more questions about an outbreak in the isolated country.
Chinese authorities banned all non-essential transportation in the city of Shulan in the northeastern province of Jilin, while residential compounds and villages were closed, official China Central Television reported Sunday. The city raised its virus threat alert level to high risk from medium, Jilin province said.
North Korea has yet to confirm any Covid-19 infections. But the U.S. military said it suspects North Korea has cases, and Kim Jong Un’s regime has accepted help from other nations to fight the virus.
China Car-Sales Rebound Has Legs, Group Says (10:58 a.m. HK)
A recovery in car sales is set to continue in China as government policies aimed at reviving demand following the coronavirus outbreak are gaining traction, an industry group predicted. A recent quick rebound in demand suggests a V-shaped recovery has been established, China Passenger Car Association said in a statement. Car retail sales fell at a slower pace of 5.5% in April, following a 40% drop in March and a 79% plunge in February, PCA said.
Shanghai Disneyland Reopens With Mandatory Masks (10:49 a.m. HK)
Shanghai Disneyland reopened after an almost four-month shutdown, in one of the largest test cases yet of whether mass gatherings can take place safely amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Disney said it is limiting access to the Shanghai park to a fifth of normal capacity during the initial reopening phase. Masks are mandatory, and guests have to pass through body temperature checks and show that their health status has been confirmed using a smartphone app for tracking infected persons.
South Korea Says Club-Linked Cases Increase to 79 (10:21 a.m. HK)
South Korea is seeing a sudden increase in cases tied to nightclubs in Seoul, raising concerns over a potential second wave of infections.
The total number of cases linked to nightclubs in Itaewon in Seoul increased to 79 as of early Monday, Yoon Tae-ho, an official for South Korea’s health ministry, said. The city has secured a list of 5,517 people who visited the clubs between April 24 and May 6, but is unable to contact about 3,000.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Saturday ordered the closing of all nightclubs and other nightlife establishments. South Korea has been able to control the virus spread without having to take severe measures such as a lockdown, relying instead on massive testing and tracing.
Saudi Arabia to Cut Spending, Triple VAT (10 a.m. HK)
Saudi Arabia ordered government spending cuts and austerity measures for about $26.6 billion and a tripling of the value-added tax to alleviate the impact of the pandemic. Finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said VAT will be increased to 15% from July 1, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
Australia’s Victoria State to Ease Lockdown Restrictions (9:44 a.m. HK)
Australia’s second-most populous state will allow as many as five visitors in homes, and gatherings of up to 10 people outside from late Tuesday as it moves to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne the state would also allow weddings to have 10 guests and up to 20 people will be able to attend funerals held indoors and up to 30 if they’re outdoors. The announcement follows Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s plan to reopen Australia’s economy by July in three phases.
Bolsonaro Criticizes Lockdown as Brazil Becomes Hotspot (9:18 a.m.)
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro criticized lockdown measures by governors even as the nation turned into a global epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. The Health Ministry on Sunday reported 162,699 total cases of Covid-19 and 11,123 deaths, among the world’s highest.
“The head of household has to stay at home going hungry with their family,” Bolsonaro said Sunday in a tweet attacking the lockdown in Maranhao state. “Millions already feel like they are living in Venezuela.”
The president said he plans on Monday to declare more jobs as essential in an effort to get Brazilians back to work.
Japan Seen Removing Regions From State of Emergency (8:51 a.m. HK)
Japan plans to remove 34 prefectures from the state of emergency designation on May 14, Yomiuri reported, citing several unidentified government officials. Many of those areas haven’t seen new coronavirus cases recently and strains on their medical systems are easing. Cases in Tokyo and Osaka have slowed, but it is believed to be too early to remove the designation for those cities.
Pence in Self-Isolation After Aide Tests Positive (5:45 p.m. NY)
Vice President Mike Pence stayed away from the White House this weekend after an aide was diagnosed with coronavirus on Friday, according to three people familiar with the situation.
Pence skipped a meeting Saturday with President Donald Trump and top military officials. A spokesman for Pence said the vice president would return to the White House on Monday.
“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine,” O’Malley said in a statement. “Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day.”
Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive on Friday. Miller is the primary spokeswoman for the White House coronavirus task force, which Pence leads.
Two members of the group — the heads of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — are in quarantine after coming into contact with another White House staff member who tested positive. Task force member Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said he would practice what he called a “modified” quarantine.
South Korea Sends Masks to U.S. (5:20 p.m. NY)
South Korea sent 2 million face masks to the U.S. for use by medical workers following a telephone call in March between presidents Trump and Moon, the foreign ministry said. The decision was made after studying South Korea’s mask supply, according to the statement. The equipment should arrive in the U.S. on Monday.
Ex-FDA Chief Boosts Quidel Antigen Test (4:30 p.m. NY)
U.S. approval of San Diego-based Quidel Corp.’s new antigen test to rapidly screen people for Covid-19 “is a real game-changer,” former Food and Drug Administration head Scott Gottlieb said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“It’s a very rapid test that could be used in a doctor’s office,” Gottlieb said. Doctors already have about 40,000 machines in their offices that are used to test for strep throat and flu, he said.
Each test may cost about $5, with results ready in minutes, said Gottlieb, a special partner at New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm that invests in the health-care and biotech sectors. Deborah Birx of the White House coronavirus task force said in April a “breakthrough innovation” in antigen testing is needed to speed reopening of the U.S. economy.
U.S. Cases Rise 1.8%, Below One-Week Average (4 p.m. NY)
U.S. cases increased 1.8% to 1.32 million from a day earlier, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The increase was below the 2.1% daily average of the past week. Total deaths rose 1.1% to 79,180.
N.Y. to Release Opening Details Monday (3:10 p.m. NY)
New York reported the fewest new deaths — 207 — since the end of March and other indicators began to show the outbreak nearing the level of the starting point for what Governor Andrew Cuomo called “this hellish journey.”
He said he would release on Monday more details on how New York would begin to reopen — and confirmed that some areas upstate may be ready for a slow resumption after the lockdown ends May 15.
Cuomo gave no indication that New York City or the surrounding areas are anywhere near being able to reopen.
Read the full story.
J&J Plans for 1 Billion Vaccines in 2021 (2:30 p.m. NY)
Drug maker Johnson & Johnson will begin clinical trials on a Covid-19 vaccine in September and plans to produce about 1 billion doses in 2021, Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“We are upscaling manufacturing and we start production later in the year,” he said. “We will have some vaccine available this year but it all depends on the authorities, the FDA and others, to decide whether it can be used earlier, before clear efficacy data are available.”
Regeneron Pharmaceutics President George Yancopoulos said an antibody treatment should go into clinical trials in June, with first data in a month or two. “It might be possible that if all goes well hundreds of thousands of doses of this could be available by the end of the summer,” he said on the same broadcast.
U.K. Outlines Plan to Reopen (2:15 p.m. NY)
Boris Johnson set out the “first careful steps” to lift the U.K.’s lockdown and restart the economy, offering a “conditional plan” to get more people back to work while controlling the virus’s spread.
With no immediate end to the lockdown, the prime minister announced looser restrictions on movement from Wednesday, starting with unlimited outdoor leisure time for sports such as golf and tennis, and allowing people to drive to parks and beaches in England.
Johnson set a goal for primary schools to begin to reopen for some children on June 1, and to restart the hospitality industry and other public places in July. Pubs are likely to stay closed longer. He encouraged commuters to walk, drive or cycle to work rather than ride public transport, where social distancing rules will apply.
France Has Fewest Deaths Since mid-March (12:30 P.M. NY)
Deaths in France rose at slowest pace since the nation entered a lockdown on March 16. The number of deaths rose by 70 to 26,380, according to data from France’s public health agency.
Italy Deaths, Cases Lowest Since Early March (12:02 p.m. NY)
Italy registered the lowest number of new cases and fatalities since early March — roughly when the country’s lockdown began — as Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he may take the next step in easing a national lockdown earlier than planned.
Conte, under pressure from coalition allies, regional and business leaders as well as public opinion after two months of containment measures, told newspaper Corriere della Sera that bars, restaurants and barbers could be allowed to reopen before June 1, the date previously set by the government. Shops are due to reopen May 18.
Civil protection authorities reported 802 cases for the 24-hour period — the fewest since March 6 — compared with 1,083 a day earlier. Confirmed cases now total 219,070. Daily fatalities fell to 165 — the fewest since March 9 — from 194 on Saturday, with a total of 30,560.
U.K. Reports Fewest Deaths Since End of March (11:27 a.m. NY)
The U.K. reported the fewest deaths since March 29 at 269. That brings total fatalities to 31,855, according to health department figures on Sunday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to make only limited changes to the lockdown when he speaks to the nation.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the new slogan to “stay alert” was “vague and imprecise,” and said her administration would be sticking to its guidance for people to stay at home.
