Global Cases Top 2 Million; Mask Order in New York: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Covid-19 has infected 2 million people around the world as the new coronavirus marked another grim milestone. Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered people in New York to start wearing masks in public.

The European Commission has drawn up plans for a partial lifting of restrictions but warned that some will remain until a vaccine or cure is found. Germany is set to extend curbs even after new cases fell for a sixth day.

U.S. retail sales tumbled in March by the most on record and factory output dropped by the most since 1946.

Key Developments

Virus Tracker: Cases reach 2 million; deaths top 133,000Trump has marathon day of calls with CEOs on how to reopen U.S.China’s data on symptom-free cases reveals most never get sickIndia faces first contraction since 1980, may ease some curbsScientists weigh immunity; hyped Malaria pill doesn’t help in study

U.S. Confirmed Cases Rise 3.5% (4 p.m. NY)

U.S. cases rose 3.5% from the day before to 619,607 by Wednesday afternoon, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. That was lower than the 6.2% average daily increase over the past week. Deaths increased 10% to 27,760.

New York’s cases rose about 0.5%, a sign that the outbreak is stabilizing in the hardest-hit state. Infections were climbing at a rate of 7.6% a week ago.

Cases in New Jersey rose 3.2%, the smallest increase since the end of March.

South Dakota had the biggest daily increase, with cases rising 18% to 1,168.

N.Y. Gets Least Fed Health Grants (2:43 p.m. NY)

New York, the state with the most Covid-19 cases, has received the least amount of federal health grants per diagnosed person, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis of some $2.5 billion distributed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The health grants are a fraction of the hundreds of billions the U.S. government is distributing to combat the disease.

Grants for New York amount to $802 per person diagnosed with the virus. Alaska, by comparison, ranks second-to-last in total cases but is on tap to receive $111,380 per case.

France Has Most Deaths to Date (2:05 p.m. NY)

France’s deaths rose by the most yet in figures released on Wednesday, while the number of intensive-care patients dropped for a seventh day.

Deaths linked to the virus rose by 1,438 to 17,167 fatalities, Director General For Health Jerome Salomon said in a briefing in Paris. He said the toll wasn’t over a 24-hour period, as the count included fatalities in recent days that weren’t previously reported.

N.Y. to Begin Antibody Testing for Essential Workers (1:45 p.m. NY)

New York state took an initial step back to normal life, introducing an antibody test to identify medical personnel and other essential workers who have already had the coronavirus and have some immunity, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The program will run 2,000 of the tests a day, Cuomo said Wednesday at his daily virus briefing. Those who have the antibodies will be allowed to return to work earliest, because they no longer carry the virus and have developed resistance to it.

New York has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expedite approval of an antibody test that could test as many as 100,000 New Yorkers a day, Cuomo said.

Merkel Allows Smaller German Shops to Reopen (1:40 p.m. NY)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced tentative steps to slowly start returning the country to normal, allowing some smaller shops to reopen next week and schools to gradually restart in early May.

Most of the restrictive measures will remain in place through May 3 and many aspects of public life will be limited for months to come. Restaurants, gyms and bars will stay closed indefinitely, and no large events such as soccer matches, concerts and festivals will be allowed before the end of August at the earliest.

Germany will need to ease restrictions in small steps, Merkel said.

New Jersey Deaths Pass 3,000 (1:29 p.m. NY)

New Jersey cases topped 3,000 amid a further tapering of new infections.

The state reported an additional 351 deaths, bringing the total to 3,156; and another 2,625 cases, the smallest increase since the end of March.

Among 21 counties, 18 had cases doubling every seven days or longer. Last month, several counties had doubling every three days.

Boston Scientific to Make Low-Cost Ventilator (12:48 p.m. NY)

Boston Scientific Corp. will start manufacturing a low-cost ventilator after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the technology an emergency use authorization.

The medical-device maker’s partner, the University of Minnesota, said in a release that the Coventor device, conceived by university researchers and an alumnus, is a low-cost backup alternative for doctors.

Ventilators are in short supply nationwide as hospitals react to the pandemic. The device has become critical to treat Covid-19 patients.

Belgium Extends Lockdown (12:40 p.m. NY)

Belgium extended restrictions on its citizens and businesses until May 3, as Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes warned that any loosening of the measures will be very gradual and that nobody can say today when normal life can resume. Mass events such as summer music festivals will be banned until the end of August.

The only easing of restrictions, now entering their fifth week, are for home improvement stores, which will be allowed to re-open and elderly in nursing homes can receive single-person visits on strict conditions again. A decision on school re-openings hasn’t been taken.

German Lockdown Extended (12:35 p.m. NY)

Germany agreed to extend most restrictions on public life into next month while allowing small shops to reopen, underlining the struggle for European governments to balance reactivating slumping economies against fears of a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Chancellor Angela Merkel prolonged measures designed to limit the spread of the disease until May 3 after talks Wednesday with the premiers from the country’s 16 states. The leaders also agreed on a reopening of smaller retailers next week as well as gradually reopening school starting with graduating classes early next month.

“We have made some progress,” Merkel said. “But I do have to stress that this progress is fragile.”

New Italian Cases Drop (12:30 p.m. NY)

Italy reported its fewest new coronavirus cases in four and a half weeks as a nationwide lockdown begins to check the spread of the disease. There were 2,667 new cases of the disease, compared with 2,972 a day earlier, the lowest since March 13, civil protection officials said at their daily briefing in Rome. Confirmed cases total 165,155.

Italy registered 578 deaths linked to the virus, compared with 602 the day before. That brings the total number of fatalities to 21,645. Hospitalized patients fell the most since the epidemic started and intensive care patients fell for a consecutive 12 days.

WHO Defends Work With China (12:05 p.m. NY)

The World Health Organization is assessing any funding gaps and will try to fill them with other partners after President Donald Trump said the U.S. will withhold payments because the WHO had been too deferential to China, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing in Geneva.

“Our mandate is to work to promote health of all people, everywhere,” said Steven Solomon, legal counsel to the WHO. “This means we work with and for all people everywhere, whether they are in Taiwan, China or any other place.”

There are millions of cases of atypical pneumonia around the world each year so it was “remarkable” that the cluster of cases in Wuhan was identified, according to Mike Ryan, WHO’s head of health emergencies.

WHO member states will review the organization’s performance, which is usual in such circumstances, Tedros said. “No doubt areas for improvement will be identified and there will be lessons for all of us to learn. But for now our focus, my focus, is on stopping this virus and saving lives,” Tedros said.

Luxembourg Schools Reopen in May (11:53 a.m. NY)

Luxembourg will start a “very prudent” step-by-step relaxation of strict confinement measures next week as the number of new infections is gradually going back, the nation’s premier Xavier Bettel said at a press conference Wednesday.

Wearing a mask or an alternative mouth protection in public will be mandatory as of April 20, if a two meter distance is not possible, he said. Secondary schools will reopen May 11, with students split into groups that will alternate between home and physical schooling. Primary schools and nurseries are expected to reopen on May 25 if numbers of infections remain stable until then, Bettel said.

Cyprus Reopening Runs to 2021 (11:30 a.m. NY)

Cyprus’s government approved a plan to lift restrictions and restart the economy in three phases, state-run Cyprus News Agency said. Businesses in key sectors of the economy will begin gradually reopening beginning in May. The third stage focuses on restarting the economy and is envisioned to run from September through the end of 2021, CNA said, citing an interview with the finance minister.

Cyprus has 695 confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.

NYC May Lose 475,000 Jobs (10:35 a.m. NY)

New York City may lose 475,000 jobs and run $9.7 billion short on tax revenue through mid-2021 because of the coronavirus outbreak, the city’s Independent Budget Office estimated.

Retail employment will take the biggest hit, followed by hotels and restaurants, and the arts, entertainment and recreation industries.

Although finance and professional services are also expected to see declines in employment, the IBO projects the most severe job losses will be disproportionately concentrated in sectors with low- and moderate-paying jobs. The only major sector of the city economy likely to avoid job losses over the next year is health care.

Coronavirus Infections Reach 2 Million (10:10 a.m. NY)

The new coronavirus has infected 2 million people around the world, a grim milestone exposing the difficulty of trying to contain the deadly pathogen.

What began as a mysterious pneumonia-like illness in Wuhan, China, late last year has morphed into a global health crisis that has threatened health systems and economies alike.

It took about four months for the virus to infect 1 million people and only 12 days for that number to double. The total case count today is likely even higher than 2 million, with countries including the U.S. testing only a fraction of their populations.

Greece Extends Flight Ban (9:33 a.m. NY)

Greece is extending a temporary ban on all flights to and from Italy, Spain, Turkey, the U.K. and the Netherlands by a month to May 15 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the country’s civil aviation authority said. Flights to and from Germany are only allowed via Athens Airport.

Exceptions include cargo and humanitarian flights. The temporary restriction on non-European Union citizens from entering Greece is also extended with certain exceptions including for family members of European citizens.

Abbott Has Test to Detect Prior Infections (9:01 a.m. NY)

Abbott Laboratories will start shipping a test that can identify people who have recovered from a coronavirus infection even if they never developed symptoms Thursday, a step that will help public-health officials track the spread as politicians move toward reopening economies.

Mayor Hopeful NYC Back to ‘More Like Normal’ By Sept. (8:14 a.m. NY)

“By September, then we are hopeful we could be back to something more like normal, but the way we get there is with that smart, cautious approach,” Bill de Blasio said in Fox interview.

Portugal Has Most New Cases in Five Days; Dutch Drop (8:13 a.m. NY)

Portugal reported the biggest increase in new confirmed cases in five days, while the number of hospitalized patients fell. There were 643 new infections, taking the total to 18,091, the government said on Wednesday. Deaths rose to 599 from 567.

New cases in the Netherlands dropped for the fifth consecutive day since the country reported a record number on April 10. Cases rose by 734, or 3%, to 28,153, in line with Tuesday’s record low growth rate. Fatalities climbed 6%, a steeper rate than the previous days because of a reporting backlog over the Easter weekend.

China Car Sales Rise for First Time Since Pandemic (7:55 a.m. NY)

Consumers bought an average of 33,400 vehicles a day last week, up 14% from a year ago, though sales were still down 12% for the first two weeks of April, the China Passenger Car Association said in a statement. The head of the group warned that it’s unclear whether the increases will be sustainable.

France Expects G-20 to Offer African Nations Moratorium on Debt (7:50 a.m. NY)

France expects Group of 20 nations will agree to a debt moratorium for African nations in a conference call later Wednesday, an official at the Elysee palace said. President Emmanuel Macron has been pushing for debt relief to support African nations caught up in the Covid-19 pandemic and on Monday called for a massive cancellation of Africa’s sovereign debt.

Goldman’s Investment Portfolio Takes a Hit (7:43 a.m. NY)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has Wall Street’s biggest investment portfolio, a boast that became a liability in the first quarter as fallout from the coronavirus weighed on the firm’s holdings. The business took an almost $900 million hit that contributed to a 46% decline in profit, even as it included gains from pending private-equity sales. A strong showing in the trading operations, the firm’s biggest division, helped counter the damage as market volatility boosted demand for trading services.

Japan Considering $930 Cash Handouts (7:39 a.m. NY)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s coalition ally, Natsuo Yamaguchi of the Komeito party, proposed making the 100,000 yen payments across the board, without income limits, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Wednesday. Japan has so far promised larger payments of 300,000 yen ($2,800), but limited them to those who can prove a substantial loss of income.

BofA Joins Rival Banks in Setting Aside Billions for Loan Losses (6:57 a.m. NY)

Bank of America Corp. joined rivals in setting aside billions of dollars for loans likely to sour amid an almost total U.S. economic shutdown. Profit plunged 45% as the company allocated $4.76 billion for loan losses, the most since 2010, as businesses and households reel from the coronavirus pandemic.

The bank follows competitors JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., which posted their highest provisions in a decade Tuesday. Citigroup Inc. on Wednesday set aside $7.03 billion to cover potential losses on loans.

Banks are trying to get ahead of loan losses they expect to come from the pandemic bringing large swaths of the global economy to a virtual standstill. While defaults haven’t yet spiked in a meaningful way, bank efforts to build up their reserves show they’re bracing for a severe recession.

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