CDC Finds Misuse of Cleaners; Malaria Drug Fails: Virus Update
 (Bloomberg) -- New York State had 42 new deaths, the fewest daily fatalities in months. A third of Americans in a Centers for Disease Control study said they bleached food or misused household cleaners to combat Covid-19.An Oxford University study shows an anti-malaria drug ineffective in treating coronavirus. Brazil surpassed Italy as the country with the world’s third-most fatalities.Middle East nations are grappling with a surge in infections as lockdowns end. Italy and France said new deaths rose less than 1%. New York City has no deaths on Thursday, the first day since March without confirmed fatalities.Key Developments:Virus Tracker: Cases pass 6.6 million; deaths exceed 393,000Fauci, virus task force vanishes with Trump all-in on reopeningThe tiny firm at the center of the hydroxychloroquine stormThe future of travel in the Covid eraCases rise in post-lockdown Mideast in signs of trouble aheadU.S. jobless rate unexpectedly falls in May as hiring reboundsSubscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus. For a look back at this week’s top stories from QuickTake, click here.France Deaths Increase 0.2% (1:35 p.m. NY)France reported deaths rose by 46 to 29,111 on Friday, based on hospital data, with reporting on nursing-home fatalities delayed to Tuesday. Hospitalizations and the number of patients in intensive care continued to decline. Cases increased by 611 to 190,460.Canada Offers Cash to Provinces (1:30 p.m. NY)Canada will make another C$14 billion ($10.4 billion) available to the provinces to help the economy restart as restrictions ease.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said the new plan will have money for expenses such as personal protective equipment for health care workers as well as more funding for businesses, daycare, public transport and community programs. Trudeau said the support is part of a safe restart agreement with provincial premiers to help cover the cost of reopening the economy over the next six to eight months.The country has provided C$260 billion in direct emergency response funding since the outbreak began, though Trudeau didn’t provide further details.Ireland Reports 0.1% Rise in Cases (1:15 p.m. NY)Ireland reported 28 new cases, with seven more deaths, as the government prepares to further loosen the lockdown. Ireland has seen fewer than 100 cases per day for all but one of the past 21 days. Nonessential retail outlets can open from Monday, while domestic travel restrictions will be eased. Ireland has had 25,163 infections and 1,670 deaths.CDC Finds People Bleaching Food (1 p.m. NY)A startling number of Americans are using bleach on food or misusing household cleaners in attempts to protect themselves from the coronavirus, according to a survey published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control.An internet panel of 500 people found more than one-third of respondents “engaging in nonrecommended high-risk practices” such as applying the cleaners to the skin or inhaling or ingesting them. “These practices pose a risk of severe tissue damage and corrosive injury and should be strictly avoided,” CDC researchers wrote.The report doesn’t directly reference President Donald Trump’s widely denounced suggestion on April 23 that researchers should study using light or disinfectants on human bodies as potential interventions against the coronavirus.WHO Calls for Broader Mask Use (12:25 p.m. NY)The World Health Organization called for broader use of medical masks, including by doctors who aren’t treating known Covid-19 patients and for at-risk groups.People over age 60 and those with pre-existing conditions should wear the masks where physical distancing isn’t possible, Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing. WHO also sharpened its recommendation on fabric masks used by the public in shops, public transport or other places where it’s not possible to stay apart from others.WHO studies show home-made masks should have three layers of material, Tedros said. “Masks alone will not protect you from Covid-19,” he said. “Masks are only of benefit as part of a comprehensive approach.”Italy’s New Deaths Up 0.3% (12:10 p.m. NY)Italy registered 518 new cases Friday, the most in more than a week, up from 177 a day earlier, as testing surged. Tested individuals jumped to 40,470 from 27,451 Thursday and an average of about 27,000 in the past week.Daily deaths fell to 85 from 88 Thursday; a total of 33,774 fatalities have been reported since late February. Total cases reached 234,531.N.Y. Deaths Fall to 42 (12 p.m. NY)New York State’s daily coronavirus death toll was the lowest since early March, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.There were 42 virus-related fatalities on Thursday, Cuomo said at his daily briefing, noting that it’s down from almost 800 just eight weeks ago. The number of hospitalizations was also the lowest to date, he said.msg1 fromNew cases rose 0.3% in the state, in line with the seven-day average. Deaths climbed to more than 24,100.NYC Hospital Admissions Spike (11:55 a.m. NY)New York City’s coronavirus hospital admissions spiked June 3 to 84, after weeks of steady declines, including 48 the previous day.The increase probably came too soon to be tied to crowds filling city streets to protest the killing of George Floyd, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Admissions remain below the city’s metric of 200 a day, allowing it to continue toward the first phase of reopening Monday, he said.The city’s health department released data Thursday showing no deaths of virus-carriers for the first time since March, with three fatalities likely attributable to Covid-19 in untested patients.U.K. Passes 40,000 Deaths (11:52 a.m. NY)The number of confirmed U.K. deaths passed 40,000, more than double the number Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief scientific adviser said in March would represent “a good outcome.”There were 357 more deaths reported Thursday, taking the total to 40,261, the Department for Health and Social Care said.The U.K. is gradually lifting its lockdown, and starting on Monday international travelers arriving in the U.K. will be quarantined for 14 days. People using public transport in England will have to cover their faces from June 15, when non-essential shops are also due to be allowed to re-open.South Africa ‘At War’ on Covid-19 (11:50 a.m. NY)South Africa is “at war” against the coronavirus and will need additional resources to limit casualties, with the worst of the pandemic yet to come, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.The disease has continued to spread despite a national lockdown in place since March 27. Although most businesses reopened this month, forecasts of an exponential rise in cases have been borne out by the latest statistics that show a record 3,267 new infections on Thursday, bringing the total to 40,792 cases. Almost 850 people have died.Hydroxychloroquine Shows No Benefit: Oxford (11:15 a.m. NY)A U.K. study evaluating malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 was stopped after preliminary analysis found it didn’t have any benefit, adding to setbacks for a treatment touted by U.S. President Donald Trump.About 26% of patients in the trial using the drug died, compared with about 24% receiving the usual care. “Hydroxychloroquine is not an effective treatment,” Peter Horby, an Oxford professor and chief investigator for the trial, said.Oxford released the data a day after The Lancet medical journal retracted a study that had showed increased heart and death risks in patients taking the drug.Florida Cases Rise More Than Average (11:10 a.m. NY)Florida reported 61,488 Covid-19 cases on Friday, up 2.2% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 1.8% in the previous seven days. Deaths among Florida residents reached 2,660, an increase of 2%.Trump Reports Progress on Vaccines (10:45 a.m. NY)U.S. President Donald Trump said “tremendous progress” is being made on producing a Covid-19 vaccine and predicted some “positive surprises,” without providing details.“I think we’re doing really well,” Trump said Friday during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House called to discuss the May jobs report. “We’re doing incredibly well with vaccines.” Trump said the U.S. could have more than 2 million doses “if it checks out for safety.”Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, last month said the U.S. has “a good chance” of getting a vaccine ready by the end of the year, “if all of the things fall into the right place.”U.K. Scientists Unsure on Face Mask Use (10:15 a.m. NY)The U.K. government’s top scientists expressed concern that enforced use of face masks in small spaces could compromise other Covid-19 prevention measures, but stopped short of issuing a recommendation before travelers need to wear the coverings starting in mid-June.The scientific panel, responding to a government question on whether masks should be worn when close contact is unavoidable, said evidence of the effectiveness wasn’t available and enforced mask-wearing could deter people from social distancing and hand washing, according to a paper released Friday.U.K. lawmakers have cited concerns that wider adoption of face coverings could lead to a shortage for health workers who have struggled with a lack of supply. The government ignored those issues and said from June 15 anyone refusing to cover their faces on trains, buses and other forms of public transport will face fines and could be barred from boarding.Ireland Accelerates Reopening (9:50 a.m. NY)Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar laid out a plan to accelerate the country’s reopening as the coronavirus outbreak comes under control. From Monday, people can travel 20 kilometers (12 miles) from home, and all stores can reopen where it’s safe to do so, with malls allowed open from June 15.From the end of June, people will be free to move around Ireland as all travel restrictions end. The aim is to reopen the economy fully by July 20, moving forward an earlier target of mid-August.Lisbon Region Reports New Cases (9:50 a.m. NY)Portugal reported 377 new cases on Friday, exceeding 300 for a third day and taking the total to 33,969, the government said. There were 11,978 active cases.The additional cases are mostly in the greater Lisbon region, where health authorities stepped up testing this week after identifying new clusters. Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Thursday that confinement measures still in place in the Lisbon region may be lifted on June 15. The government last week delayed a planned reopening of malls in greater Lisbon.U.S. Jobless Rate Falls (8:30 a.m. NY)America’s labor market unexpectedly rebounded in May, signaling that the economy is picking up faster than thought from the depths of the pandemic-induced slump.Nonfarm payrolls rose by 2.5 million after a 20.7 million tumble the prior month that was the largest in records back to 1939. The jobless rate fell to 13.3% from 14.7%.EU Set to Prolong Ban on Travel (7:31 a.m. NY)The European Union plans to prolong a ban on most travel to the bloc for an extra two weeks until July 1 as member nations first remove internal border controls triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.“Many” EU governments on Friday supported renewing a restriction on outside arrivals for a third time, said European Home-Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson. The curb on non-essential travel to the bloc is currently due to lapse on June 15 after being introduced in mid-March for 30 days and extended twice.U.K. Body to Probe Impact on People of Color (6:41 a.m. NY)The U.K.’s Equality and Human Rights Commission plans to hold an inquiry into the effect of the coronavirus on people of color. As the virus takes a disproportionate toll on minority groups in Britain, the commission said the inquiry will form part of its wider approach to address structural race inequality in the country.AbbVie, Harbour, Utrecht University to Collaborate (6:12 a.m. NY)AbbVie, Harbour BioMed, Utrecht University and Erasmus Medical Center plan to collaborate to develop a novel antibody therapeutic to prevent and treat COVID-19. The collaboration will focus on advancing the fully human, neutralizing antibody 47D11 discovered by Utrecht, Erasmus and Harbour and recently reported in Nature Communications.Iran Adds Nearly 3,000 New Cases Again (5:49 p.m. HK)Iran reported 2,886 new coronavirus cases and 63 more deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s tally to 167,156 infections and 8,134 deaths. Countries across the Middle East are grappling with what appears to be a new surge in coronavirus cases -- offering a cautionary tale for a world gradually reopening to a new normal.Iran, too, has seen a spike in infections after the country eased its lockdown, but the number of new cases have dropped from Thursday’s record increase.Bentley to Cut 1,000 U.K. Jobs (5:37 p.m. HK)Bentley Motors plans to cut as many as 1,000 jobs in the U.K., about a quarter of its workforce, to cope with the fallout of the coronavirus crisis after years of weak profitability. The British luxury carmaker plans to reduce headcount through voluntary measures but “cannot rule out future compulsory redundancies,” the Crewe-based manufacturer said Friday in a statement.(A previous version was corrected to fix sales decline in item on U.K. house prices)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Friday, June 5, 2020 1:58 pm EDT
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