(Bloomberg) —
U.S. virus cases rose to 3.27 million with almost 56,000 new infections, less than the one-week average daily increase. Even so, Florida reported more than 15,000 cases, the biggest daily increase of any state since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Florida’s count exceeded records in New York, California and Texas, each of which has peaked at almost 12,000 daily cases so far. Florida deaths fell by more than half to 44. New U.S. cases have surpassed 50,000 on all but two days since July 2.
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said “the rule should be that kids go back to school this fall.” South Africa introduced a curfew and a booze ban after virus rules went unheeded.
Key Developments:
Global Tracker: Cases top 12.8 million; deaths surpass 566,000Nobody wants to test creative destruction to reboot economyU.K. set to tighten rules on wearing face masksFauci deemed not to weigh “whole national interest”Conflicting visions emerge for South Africa’s post-virus revivalAnonymity helped overcome stigma in Korean nightclub probe
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Texas Reports Lower Pace of Deaths (4:40 p.m. NY)
Texas reported 8,196 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the state’s total to 258,658. The increase of 3.3% was below the seven-day average of 3.9%. The number of deaths rose by 80 to 3,192, the Department of State Health Services said on its website.
U.S. Cases Rise Less Than 7-Day Average (4:00 p.m. NY)
U.S. coronavirus cases rose by 55,688 compared with the same time Saturday to 3.27 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The 1.7% gain was smaller than the national average daily increase of 1.9% over the past week. Deaths rose 0.4% from Saturday to 134,904.
Florida reported a record 15,300 virus cases Sunday, the biggest one-day rise since the coronavirus outbreak began in the U.S. New York, California and Texas have all reached almost 12,000 in a single day. It was a 6% daily rise compared to an average increase of 4.8% over the last week. The state reported a drop in deaths, to 44 from 95 the day before.Deaths in Arizona rose for a third day, to 86 reported on Sunday, while the increase in new cases slowed to 2.1% from the weekly average rise of 3.4%. The state reported 2,537 new cases, for a total of 122,467. That compared to 3,038 cases the day before. Deaths rose from 69 reported Saturday and 44 reported on Friday. Total deaths are 2,237.California reported 8,460 new Covid-19 cases, a 2.7% increase, according to the health department’s website. That’s below the 3% seven-day average. There have been 320,804 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state. The number of deaths climbed by 72, or 1%, to 7,017.New York reported 677 new Covid-19 cases, a 0.2% rise in line with the seven-day average of daily cases. Five more fatalities were reported, one fewer than the day before.New Jersey reported 349 more virus cases, a 0.2% rise in line with the average increase over the last week. The state now has a total of 175,298 infections. Another 16 people died, for a total of 13,594 fatalities.
South Africa Imposes Curfew, Alcohol Curbs (2:30 p.m. NY)
President Cyril Ramaphosa castigated South Africans for violating rules to curb the spread of Covid-19 and announced restrictions, including a renewed ban on alcohol sales to halt “drinking sprees” and an overnight curfew starting Monday. Infections climbed to 276,242, with case numbers increasing by more than 12,000 per day. At least 4,079 people have died of the coronavirus in South Africa, a quarter of them in the past week. The government expects the disease to peak by the end of September and intensive-care units in all nine provinces to run out of beds.
New Jersey Cases Steady (2:25 p.m. NY)
New Jersey reported 349 more virus cases, a 0.2% rise in line with the average increase over the last week. The state now has a total of 175,298 infections, Governor Phil Murphy said in on Twitter.
Deaths in the state increased by 16 to 13,594.
California Reports 2.7% Increase (2:10 p.m. NY)
California reported 8,460 new Covid-19 cases, a 2.7% increase, according to the health department’s website. That’s below the 3% seven-day average. There have been 320,804 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state. The number of deaths climbed by 72, or 1%, to 7,017.
Arizona Deaths Rise, New Cases Slow (1:50 p.m. NY)
Deaths in Arizona rose for a third day, to 86 reported on Sunday, while the increase in new cases slowed to 2.1% from the weekly average rise of 3.4%.
The state reported 2,537 new cases, for a total of 122,467. That compared to 3,038 cases the day before. Deaths rose from 69 reported Saturday and 44 reported on Friday. Total deaths are 2,237.
U.K. Cases in Line With Past Week (1:44 p.m. NY)
The U.K. said 650 more people tested positive, in line with the average 0.2% increase in the previous seven days, bringing the total to 289,603. The death toll climbed by 21 to 44,819.
The virus can survive in the air for more than an hour, undermining the “back to work” push by ministers, the Telegraph reported, citing Wendy Barclay, a virologist on the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
She said the virus could remain viable even in tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere, adding to the case for face coverings.
Florida Breaks U.S. Record for Daily Cases (1:40 p.m. NY)
Florida reported a record 15,300 virus cases Sunday, the biggest one-day rise since the coronavirus outbreak began in the U.S. New York, California and Texas have all reached almost 12,000 in a single day.
It was a 6% daily rise compared to an average increase of 4.8% over the last week, as the virus pushes to new highs around the south and west. The state’s previous record was set on July 3, of 11,393 cases.
But the state reported a drop in deaths, to 44 from 95 the day before. The state’s rate of positive tests declined to 11.2%, from 12.5%, the lowest since late June.
“It won’t be long” until hospitals in the Miami area reach capacity, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said on CNN, who added that the biggest concern for now is ICU capacity.
“We have reached capacity in some, but we also have reserve space,” he said. “We have another 1,200 beds that we can crank out pretty fast for critical care beds. We have another 500 ICU beds that we can crank up.”
Italy Reports Increase (12:40 p.m. NY)
Italy reported 234 new coronavirus cases Sunday, compared with 188 the previous day and in line with the previous seven-day average of 201, Health Ministry data showed. Nine more people died, raising the death toll to 34,954. Italy had a one-day peak of 6,557 new infections on March 21; a total of 243,061 cases have been reported since the end of February.
Trump Official Calls for ‘Simple’ Changes (10:50 a.m. NY)
A few “simple” changes would do as much to curb the Covid-19 transmission rate as another broad shutdown, Admiral Brett Giroir, President Donald Trump’s former coronavirus testing czar, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Among the ideas: avoiding bars and wearing masks in public. The U.S. is “definitely not losing the battle,” he said, as daily cases hit new records.
Giroir, an assistant secretary for health, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Disease, “is not 100% right” in how the U.S. should approach the pandemic, and doesn’t “have the whole national interest in mind” when he speaks. “He looks at it from a very narrow public health point of view.”
Gove Questions Masks in U.K. Shops (10:35 a.m. NY)
U.K. Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said the government shouldn’t make face masks compulsory in English shops — but added that it was “good manners” to wear one.
On Saturday, the Times reported that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to tell Parliament this week it will be compulsory for Britons to wear face coverings in shops, soon after telling the country that it was only optional do so. Johnson’s administration has come in for steady criticism for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives of about 45,000 people in the U.K. — the highest toll in Europe.
Outbreak at U.K. Farm (10:26 a.m. NY)
More than 70 workers at a farm in Herefordshire in western England have contracted coronavirus. Workers at A.S. Green & Co. have been asked to stay on the farm within household groups to prevent further spread. Public Health England advises that it is very unlikely Covid-19 can be transmitted through food or food packaging, the company said in a statement on its website. The farm specializes in broccoli and beans.
Portugal Reports Slower Rise (10:22 a.m. NY)
Portugal reported 291 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, down from 342 on Saturday, for a total of 46,512, the government said. The additional cases are mostly in the greater Lisbon region, where authorities have tightened restrictions since the start of July and increased testing after new clusters were identified. The total number of deaths in Portugal rose by 6 to 1,660.
New York Cases Remain Steady (10:15 a.m. NY)
New York reported 677 new Covid-19 cases, a 0.2% rise in line with the seven-day average of daily cases, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a tweet. Five more fatalities were reported, one fewer than the day before, he said.
DeVos Says School Reopening Should Be ‘Rule’ (10:10 a.m. NY)
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos pushed the administration’s position of opening schools in the fall, despite a heavy rate of Covid-19 infections in many states, in two Sunday-morning interviews.
“There is going to be the exception to the rule. But the rule should be that kids go back to school this fall,” she said on CNN. DeVos said there was “nothing in the data that suggests kids going back to school is in any way dangerous.”
On “Fox News Sunday” DeVos repeated a threat to withhold federal funds if schools don’t reopen for in-person learning: “if schools aren’t going to open, they shouldn’t get the funds. Give it to the families.”
Hundreds of Credit Suisse Jobs May Go (8 a.m. NY)
Credit Suisse Group AG could cut “hundreds” of jobs as the Swiss lender mulls different savings plans that would allow it to reach its profit targets, according to SonntagsZeitung, which didn’t say where it obtained the information. The coronavirus crisis has given its online operations a boost and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Gottstein is mulling thinning out the Zurich-based bank’s domestic branch network.
Israel Deficit May Reach 13% of GDP (7:45 a.m. NY)
Israel’s pandemic support plan could lead the budget deficit to hit 13% of GDP this year and 7% in 2021, Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron said in a statement. The government has the ability to finance the plan, which will help public weather the ongoing crisis, he said.
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