Coronavirus Global Updates, Oct 06: Johnson’s Vow for Britain; Italy to Tighten Rules

Tue Oct 6 15:04:20 CAT 2020

 <http://www.finsec.co.zw/> 

Zimbabwe COVID19 Update

COVID-19 update: As at 5 October 2020, Zimbabwe had 7 898 confirmed cases, including 6 424 recoveries and 228 deaths.

Johnson’s Vow for Britain; Italy to Tighten Rules: Virus Update

Germany’s new coronavirus cases jumped the most since mid-April, highlighting Europe’s struggles to keep the pandemic in check. Italy’s government is set to order stricter rules, including a decree that masks be worn outdoors.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned of the risks to the region’s economic recovery and urged governments not to end fiscal support too soon. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson  <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-06/u-k-s-johnson-vows-to-get-u-k-back-to-normal-next-year> said his government is working to get the country “back to normal” by this time next year.

BioNTech SE climbed in premarket trading after Europe’s drugs regulator started reviewing data on an experimental vaccine the company is developing with Pfizer Inc. President Donald Trump and his allies looked to capitalize on his discharge from the hospital.

 <https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-coronavirus-cases-world-map/> 

 <https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-coronavirus-cases-world-map/> 

U.K.’s Johnson Vows to Get U.K. Back to Normal Next Year 

Countries Report Records in Daily Cases/Deaths 

Malaysia marked another record single-day increase in cases as the northern state of Kedah emerged as a new hotspot. There were 691 new infections on Tuesday. Four people died from the disease, bringing the total to 141.

Poland registered 2,236 new cases, taking the total to 104,316, with the death toll jumping by a record 58 to 2,717, the Health Ministry said on Twitter. Romania also reported record daily virus fatalities, with an additional 73 deaths bringing the total to 5,121.

Iran reported its highest number of daily cases for a second consecutive day, with 4,151 new infections overnight, up from 3,902 a day earlier, bringing the total to 479,825. Face masks will become mandatory in Tehran from Saturday, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

EU Regulator Starts Review of Pfizer-BioNTech Shot 

Europe’s drugs regulator started an early review of an experimental Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, potentially speeding the shot’s assessment and time to market.

Called a “rolling review,” the process will allow the European Medicines Agency to look at how the vaccine is performing in real time as data emerges from trials, instead of waiting for the drugmakers to submit everything at once. BioNTech shares surged in trading before U.S. markets opened.

ECB’s Lagarde Voices Cliff-Edge Fear

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned that coronavirus containment measures pose a clear risk to the region’s economic recovery, as she urged governments not to end fiscal support too soon. The comments were from an interview released Tuesday at an online event organized by the Wall Street Journal.

“Instead of that V-shape that we all longed for and hoped for, we fear that it might have a second arm of the V,” she said, noting that the situation is turning particularly severe in France and Spain.

Italy Set to Tighten Measures 

Italy’s government is set to reinforce measures to curb the pandemic, including decreeing that protective masks be worn outdoors, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said. He told lawmakers the administration will likely order stricter rules on Wednesday evening that will include targeting social gatherings, even though the pace of the spread remains slower than in other large European countries.

“Italy is, together with Germany, among the big European countries the one which is holding up better to this second wave but we must not have any illusions,” Speranza said Tuesday in a speech to the lower house of parliament. “We are not out of danger.”

Merkel Vows Government Support for Germany’s Recovery 

Chancellor Angela Merkel  <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-06/merkel-vows-government-support-for-germany-s-virus-recovery> said the government will support Germany’s tentative recovery from the fallout of the coronavirus crisis “with all its strength.” Europe’s largest economy is showing signs of improvement, but the scale of the damage justifies Germany’s unprecedented borrowing and spending, Merkel said in a video statement to the BDI industry lobby in Berlin on Tuesday.

Germany earlier registered 3,100 new infections in the 24 hours through Tuesday morning, taking the total to 304,673, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That’s the biggest daily increase since April 18, but still well below peak levels of almost 7,000. There were 21 new fatalities, lifting the overall number of deaths to 9,554.

Australia Fires Up Fiscal Policy to Revive Employment 

Australia  <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-06/QHRUPHDWRGG601> unveiled a multi-pronged fiscal plan that pushes its budget deficit to levels unseen in peacetime in a bid to power a recovery and generate jobs for tens of thousands left unemployed by Covid-19 containment efforts. The underlying cash deficit will swell to 11% of gross domestic product in the 12 months through June 2021, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told parliament.

England & Wales Virus Deaths Rise to Highest Since July 

Weekly fatalities linked to Covid-19 in England and Wales rose 55% in the week ended Sept. 25, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Covid-19 linked deaths reached 215 and increased in eight of the nine English regions.

Hollywood Shutdowns to Cost Allianz Millions in Claims 

Allianz SE, Europe’s largest insurer, is bracing for  <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-06/hollywood-shutdowns-to-cost-allianz-millions-in-pandemic-claims> a flood of claims after movie and television studios were forced to curtail production during lockdown. A unit of Allianz, which says it’s the largest insurer of Hollywood studios, has set aside about 488 million euros ($575 million) this year for coronavirus-related claims, with much of that coming from the entertainment industry.

S. Korea, Japan Agree to Resume Business Travel 

South Korea and Japan agreed on reopening short-term and long-term business travel between the two countries starting from Oct. 8, South Korea’s foreign ministry said in an emailed statement.

U.K. and Netherlands Are Short on Remdesivir 

The U.K. and the Netherlands are facing shortages of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral remdesivir for patients with Covid-19, newspapers said. Hospitals in Britain have been ordered to ration prescriptions and only give the medicine to early-stage patients, according to the Telegraph. In the Netherlands, hospitals aren’t able to order more of the drug from Gilead, newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad reported.

Scotland May Enter ‘Circuit-Breaker’ Lockdown, Sun Says 

Scotland is set to go into a “mini-lockdown” from 7 p.m. on Friday for two weeks, the Scottish Sun reported, citing information provided to doctors. Restrictions could include a stay-at-home order, the closure of pubs and new travel restrictions.

Singapore Studies Opening Borders, Warning About Future 

Singapore is  <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-06/singapore-races-to-open-borders-warning-its-future-is-at-stake> exploring ways to safely open its borders after the coronavirus led to record losses at the nation’s flag carrier and decimated traffic at Changi Airport. A multiministry taskforce is studying how Singapore could let in more travelers and reviewing proposals by stakeholders and the public, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said in Parliament on Tuesday. The city-state will accept visitors as long as they agree to testing and tracing.

Austria’s Kurz Tests Negative  

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and his government ministers tested negative on Monday after a staffer close to Kurz had contracted the coronavirus, the chancellery said overnight.

Kurz will return to the chancellery today but will hold as many meetings as possible by phone or video conference, according to the chancellery.

India Reports Lowest Level of Cases in a Month  

India added a little over 61,000 new infections on Tuesday, the lowest number in more than a month, the latest government data show. The country, which has become the new epicenter of the pandemic, has been reporting fewer than 80,000 cases for the past four days.

With the new cases, the South Asian nation’s total now stands at 6.69 million, according to the  <https://www.mohfw.gov.in/> health ministry. The death toll from the virus is 103,569.

India, with the second-highest number of cases in the world, is likely to surpass the U.S. in the next month to become the world’s worst-affected country.

FDA Says It Told Vaccine Makers of Principles 

The FDA said it has worked to make clear to Covid-19 vaccine developers what standards would have to be met to authorize use of shots. One such path is an emergency-use authorization, or EUA, a fast-track procedure that relies on less safety and efficacy data than a full approval.

The EUA guidance is still under review, and the New York Times and Politico both reported on Monday that the White House had blocked it. Trump, trailing Biden in most election polls, has repeatedly said a vaccine would be ready by Election Day.

Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s biologics office, said at a Sept. 29 event that an EUA requires at least two months of data on the safety of any Covid-19 vaccine.

Hong Kong to Keep Social Distancing Curbs 

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said there would be “no further relaxation” of coronavirus measures, as authorities continue to find infections of unknown origin.

“We will need to maintain these measures for some time,” Lam told a weekly news conference Tuesday before a meeting of her advisory Executive Council. “In other words there will in general be no further relaxation.”

More than half of local cases recorded since Sept. 30 were of unknown origin, a development Lam described as “worrying.”

Trump Heads Back to White House  

U.S. President Donald Trump walked out of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday and boarded the presidential helicopter to return to the White House after his discharge following treatment for Covid-19.

“Thank you very much,” Trump said to reporters assembled outside the Bethesda, Maryland, hospital. He flashed a thumbs up before entering the presidential limousine for a short ride to the helipad.

He will continue to recuperate for an unspecified amount of time at the White House before resuming his re-election campaign.

US President Donald Trump walks out of Walter Reed Medical Center to board the Marine One on Oct. 5.

Photographer: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Dangerous U.S. Comeback for Covid  

Covid-19 is spreading again across most of the U.S., hammering rural America and smaller cities and raising anxiety in New York, as experts warn that school reopenings and colder weather may cause the situation to rapidly deteriorate.

In 34 states, the seven-day average of new cases is higher now than it was a month ago. Although the virus has waned in populous states including California and Florida, it is wreaking unprecedented havoc in the Midwest and making an incipient return in parts of the Northeast.

“The weather report is darkly cloudy with further storms on the horizon,” said William Schaffner, an infectious disease professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

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