Sign up here for our daily coronavirus newsletter on what you need to know, andsubscribe to our Covid-19 podcast for the latest news and analysis.
U.S. cases of coronavirus rose faster than the one-week average. New York’s new deathsinched higher while hospital admissions fell. U.K. fatalities closed in on the toll for Italy, which reporteda jump that kept its tally the highest in Europe.
New Jersey’s decision to reopen will be driven by how much“knucklehead” behavior is apparent as limits end. Saudi Arabia facesdeep spending cuts, a top official said.
Congress’s two top leadersrejected a White House offer of testing equipment until the technologies are more widely available.
Key Developments
- Virus Tracker: global cases top 3.4 million; deaths 242,000
- America’s retailerslure virus-weary shoppers to malls
- Stir-crazy Italiansask, who can we visit now?
- U.S. beef outputis down more than shutdowns suggest
- Covid exit strategyneeds a worldwide vaccine
- From Houston to New York,muni finances in tatters
Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis teamhere. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus.
U.K. Primary Schools to Reopen June 1: Telegraph (5 p.m. NY)
U.K. primary schools are due to reopen as soon as a June 1 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to gradually “unlock” Britain, The Sunday Telegraph reports. Johnson is expected to unveil the government’s “road map” out of the lockdown in a speech next Sunday.
Johnson hopes to put teachers on three weeks’ notice to reopen primary schools to all pupils on June 1, the newspaper reported.
Saudi Minister Warns of ‘Painful’ Steps (4:30 p.m. NY)
Saudi Arabia will need to take “painful” measures and consider deep spending cuts to deal with the pandemic and a meltdown in global oil markets, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said on Saudi television station Al-Arabiya.
A week ago, Al-Jadaan told reporters the kingdom had survived similar, “maybe even worse,” crises and would pass through this one as it had others. On Saturday, he said government spending would need to be “cut deeply” and even some programs in Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Vision 2030” economic plan face cuts as implementation is delayed by steps to slow the outbreak.
Read the fullstory.
U.S. Cases Rose 3.2%, Above Week’s Average (4 p.m. NY)
U.S. cases increased 3.2% from the same time on Friday to 1.12 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The national increase was above the average daily increase of 2.9% over the past week.
- New York reported 4,663 new cases, for a total of 312,977 — about 9% of total reported cases around the world. Deaths rose slightly, by 299, to 18,909, the Department of Health reported.
- New Jersey registered 2,912 new infections, bringing total cases to 123,717. Governor Phil Murphy reported 205 deaths, down from 311 reported Friday, to bring the total to 7,742.
- Massachusetts had 1,952 new cases, boosting the total to 66,263, while deaths rose by 130, to 3,846, the Department of Public Health said.
- Illinois reported 2,450 new cases, boosting the total to 58,505, and deaths increased by 105, to 2,559, the Department of Public Health reported.
- Florida added 735 new cases, up 2.1%, to 35,463, while deaths rose by 50, or 3.5% to 1,364, the state health department said.
- Texas reported 1,293 new cases, the biggest one-day rise, bringing the state’s total to 30,552, with 31 additional fatalities, for a cumulative tally of 847, the state health service said.
California Deaths Rise (4:05 p.m. NY)
California added 98 new deaths from the outbreak, bringing the total toll to 2,171. The state added 1,755 new cases, with a total of 52,197. Hospitalizations increased by 5. Governor Gavin Newsom said Friday he could be making announcements on the easing of the state’s stay-home orders within days, not weeks.
Newsom faced protests after ordering beaches to close in Orange County, which is south of Los Angeles. Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill said he wasn’t consulted on the decision and that sheriffs in the coastal city don’t plan on arresting beachgoers.
House, Senate Decline Offer for Tests (3:55 p.m. NY)
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined an offer from the Trump adminisrtation to use rapid coronavirus testing equipment for lawmakers until “these speedier technologies become more widely available.”
“Congress is grateful for the Administration’s generous offer,” the leaders said in a statement. “Congress wants to keep directing resources to the front-line facilities where they can do the most good the most quickly.”
Earlier, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar tweeted that three Abbott point-of-care machines and 1,000 tests are being sent to Capitol Hill. President Donald Trump noted “tremendous” testing capacity for lawmakers and tweeted that that the House — which opted to remain out next week — also should return to work.
Read the fullstory.
N.J. Alert for ‘Knucklehead’ Behavior (2:50 p.m. NY)
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who is reopening state parks, said the pace of returning to normal would be driven in part by how much “knucklehead” behavior emerges as restrictions are relaxed.
“If we hear reports of people not taking either their health or the health of — maybe even more importantly — the health of other park-goers seriously then we won’t hesitate to — and I don’t say this with any joy — to close them again,” Murphy said.
Murphy reported signs of progress. Some 5,713 Covid-19 patients are currently hospitalized in the state, a drop of 1,000 on the week. Those in intensive care and on ventilators are also down.
Read the fullstory.
French Deaths Fewest in Almost Six Weeks (2:10 p.m. NY)
France reported 166 new deaths, bringing the total number to 24,760 since March 1. The country reported 1,530 new cases in 24 hours, for a total of 201,667. The French health ministry also said hospitals in Southern France are under less pressure.
Ethiopia Offers Business Tax Break (1:30 p.m. NY)
Ethiopia offered tax relief to companies affected by the outbreak, including cancellation of interest and penalties on outstanding taxes due for 2015-2018, state television said.
In addition, underlying taxes due for the period can be paid in installments, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation reported, citing Finance Minister Eyob Tekalign. The government will grant a one-month grace period on payment of value-added and turnover tax payments.
Cuomo Orders Police Enforcement (1:20 p.m. NY)
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered police to enforce social distancing and made it clear that he would not immediately follow other states in reopening or easing restrictions.
“I disagree with people who say ‘open the economy’ even though you know there’s a public health risk,” Cuomo said at a briefing in Queens. “I’m not going to put dollars signs over human lives.”
Cuomo noted trends that continue to show that the outbreak in New York has receded significantly: new and ongoing hospitalizations continued to drop, as did admissions to intensive care units.
Italy’s Deaths Rise, Cases Stable (12:10 p.m. NY)
Italy’s daily death count rose and new cases remained stable as the nation prepares to gradually ease its two-month lockdown as of Monday.
Figures from civil protection authorities showed 1,900 new cases, compared with 1,965 a day earlier. There were 474 deaths, compared with 269 on Friday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 28,710. The daily tally includes 282 deaths from April that were only communicated at the end of the month, the Lombardy region said on its website. Without the addition of the Lombardy numbers, which include Milan, the daily toll would be the lowest in more than a month.
U.K. Deaths Rise to More Than 28,000 (11:06 a.m. NY)
The U.K. reported an additional 621 deaths on Saturday, bringing its total to 28,131, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said, adding that 76 million pounds ($95 million) will be made available for victims of domestic abuse.
Jenrick also outlined measures to prevent homeless people who have been housed during the crisis from returning to the streets.
Eurostar Passengers Must Cover Faces (10:45 a.m. NY)
Passengers on Eurostar trains between London and Paris and Brussels must cover their faces starting Monday, the rail operator said on itswebsite. “Any type of mask is suitable as long as it effectively covers your nose and mouth,” Eurostar said. “If you don’t have a mask you may be refused travel on our services.”
Eurostar said the move is in line with guidelines announced by governments in France and Belgium, where fines may be imposed on passengers not wearing masks.
Portugal Hospitalizations Decline (9:36 a.m. NY)
Portugal reported 203 new confirmed coronavirus cases in a day, taking the total to 25,190, Health Minister Marta Temido said. The total number of deaths rose by 16 to 1,023. The number of hospitalized cases and of patients in intensive care units fell. Deaths so far indicate a fatality rate of 4.1%, while for those more than 70 years old it’s 14.5%, Temido said. Figures for confirmed cases from previous days are being revised to remove some duplicated cases, according to Temido.
— With assistance by Steve Geimann, Ian Fisher, Arsalan Shahla, Rodrigo Orihuela, Stepan Kravchenko, Hailey Waller, Ari Natter, Linus Chua, Ania Nussbaum, Samuel Gebre, Marco Bertacche, Vivian Nereim, and Reema Al Othman
Source: Read Full Article