(Bloomberg) -- Europe’s resurgent coronavirus outbreak intensified, with Italy’s new cases reaching a record and France reporting the most deaths since April. President Emmanuel Macron is readying new measures to control the spread, while Germany’s Angela Merkel will propose harsher restrictions on movement.
In the U.S., Covid-19 hospitalizations have risen at least 10% in the past week in 32 states and the nation’s capital as the month-old viral surge increasingly weighs on America’s health-care system. Chicago and Denver tightened curbs to stem outbreaks.
Pfizer Inc. CEO Albert Bourla said the company may know by the end of October whether its vaccine is effective. Russia has begun production of a second vaccine that hasn’t completed trials.
Key Developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases top 43.8 million; deaths exceed 1.16 million
- Slow Covid recovery stalks health industry as new cases surge
- All-in push for vaccine in U.S. raises risk virus will linger
- European governments running out of options to avoid lockdowns
- Companies are building tech tools to manage office reopenings
- Vaccine Tracker: Vaccine trials restart, providing hope
Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on coronavirus cases and deaths.
El Paso Hospitals Fill With Virus Patients (5:30 p.m. NY)
More than 40% of the hospital beds in El Paso, Texas, are occupied by virus patients as the worsening outbreak in the state’s biggest hot spot tested the region’s health-care infrastructure.
Just a week ago, the Covid-19 census in El Paso-area facilities was under 25%, state health department figures showed. Federal and state agencies have opened field hospitals and deployed 1,000 nurses and other personnel to aid locals. Outbreaks are also accelerating in Lubbock and Amarillo, where more than 20% of hospital beds are taken by virus victims.
Statewide, hospitalizations have risen in seven of the past eight days and are now at levels not seen since late August. Texas hospitals housed 5,512 virus patients as of Tuesday, a 65% increase since the start of the month.
California’s Theme Parks Staying Closed (5 p.m. NY)
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he is hesitant to allow theme parks, including Disneyland, to reopen as coronavirus cases surge again across the world.
Walt Disney Co. and other theme park operators have been pushing the state for permission to resume operations, particularly after Florida parks started operating again in June. But Newsom said Tuesday that other states and countries that have been more permissive about letting businesses reopen are now enduring another wave of infections.
“Self-evidently, we should be concerned about opening up a large theme park, where by definition people mix from every conceivable walk of life,” he said during an update with reporters.
A trade group for the state’s theme-park industry said parks have been opened safely elsewhere and there’s no evidence of outbreaks being tracked back to them.
Chicago, Denver Impose New Limits (4:36 p.m. NY)
Chicago and Denver are among cities tightening rules to try to stem new outbreak.
Illinois will suspend indoor restaurant and bar service in Chicago starting Friday, according to Governor J.B. Pritzker. The region that includes Chicago “is now averaging more than twice as many Covid-related hospital admissions per day as it was a month ago, with a positivity rate that has almost doubled since the beginning of October,” Pritzker said in an emailed statement.
In Denver, Mayor Michael Hancock ordered most businesses to limit capacity to 25%, effective immediately. Denver reported a one-day record of 327 news cases Sunday. The Colorado capital could reimpose stay-at-home-orders, officials said.
France Reports Most Deaths Since April (3:16 p.m. NY)
France reported the most Covid-19 deaths since April on as President Emmanuel Macron readies new measures to control the coronavirus.
Fatalities linked to the virus jumped by 523 to 35,541, health authorities reported. That’s the biggest increase since April 22, before the end of France’s lockdown in May, with the data including several days of deaths from nursing homes.
Macron will hold a televised address Wednesday evening to announce new initiatives to tackle the second wave of the virus, his office said. Prime Minister Jean Castex plans to present “vital” new measures to both houses of parliament on Thursday.
Western States Join Vaccine Review Group (3 p.m. NY)
Washington, Oregon and Nevada joined California’s initiative to review any FDA-approved vaccine for safety and efficacy before distributing it to residents. The states will identify public-health experts who will help guide the review, joining an 11-member panel announced last week by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
“Any Covid vaccine must be guided by the expertise of scientists and medical professionals and that’s just what this workgroup will do,” Washington Governor Jay Inslee said in a statement.
While the safety of a vaccine has become a political issue, Newsom said last week that the group would review a shot regardless of the outcome of the presidential election.
Belgium’s Flemish Region Shuts Cinemas, Gyms (2:35 p.m. NY)
Dutch-speaking Flanders became the latest Belgian region to tighten restrictions, ordering theaters, cinemas, gyms and swimming pools to shut down starting Friday for an undetermined period. Indoor sports are banned for all people age 12 and up. Unlike the Brussels capital district and the southern French-speaking region of Wallonia, Flanders didn’t extend the nationwide curfew that begins at midnight.
Bulgaria Closes High Schools, Universities (1:40 p.m. NY)
Bulgaria is closing high schools and universities starting from Thursday, as well as night clubs and bars, while limiting further the capacity at restaurants, conferences and theatres. The Balkan country, whose prime minister is recovering from Covid at home, has so avoided nationwide restrictions in the past two months but hit a new record of death cases and intensive care patients Tuesday, putting pressure on its unreformed health care system.
Italy’s Cases Hit Record (1 p.m. NY)
Italy’s coronavirus cases reached a new daily record on Tuesday, rising to 21,994, compared with 17,012 the previous day. About 174,000 tests were carried out, and 221 deaths related to Covid-19 were reported, bringing the total to 37,70. Patients in intensive-care units rose by 127, to 1,411. Hospitalizations reached 15,366 , compared with April peak of 29,000
U.K. New Deaths Highest Since May (12:30 p.m. NY)
The U.K. reported the most new deaths from coronavirus since the end of May, as public health officials warned the number of deaths will continue to rise.
Some 367 new deaths were reported within 28 days of a positive test, compared with 102 on the day before. The number of deaths is often higher in the two days following a weekend, but Tuesday’s figure is the highest since the country experienced a second rise in the number of cases.
Dr. Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, said she expects the number of deaths to continue rising for some time in an emailed statement.
“Each day we see more people testing positive and hospital admissions increasing,” Doyle said.
Greece Cases Hit Record (12:15 a.m. NY)
Greece reported 1,259 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, the highest daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic, bringing the total to 32,752.
The country recorded 12 more deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours with the total number of dead now at 593. The country introduced new measures on Saturday to control the spread of the virus, including a night-time curfew, in high risk areas such as the capital Athens and the second-largest city, Thessaloniki.
Greek Education Minister Niki Kerameus said Tuesday she tested positive for Covid-19 after her husband showed symptoms of the virus. He also tested positive. The minister said in a tweet that she has gone into self-isolation.
Pfizer Trial Hasn’t Reached Key Milestone (10:15 a.m. NY)
Pfizer Inc. indicated that a large, late-stage trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine hadn’t yet reached a key milestone that will help researchers determine how well it protects people from Covid-19.
In a presentation included with its third-quarter earnings results Tuesday, the drugmaker said the data-monitoring board of scientists overseeing the trial hadn’t yet conducted an interim efficacy analysis. That means fewer than 32 cases of Covid-19 have occured among the trial’s participants. The first of four efficacy analyses is scheduled to be conducted when the trial achieves that threshold.
Pfizer has enrolled more than 42,000 patients in its Covid-19 vaccine trial. Almost 36,000 have received their second dose as of Oct. 26, the company said Tuesday.
Netherlands Reports Record Cases, Boosts Aid (9:21 a.m. NY)
Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the Dutch government has made about 500 million euros ($592 million) in extra funds available for state aid on the same day a report showed weekly cases rose to a record.
The government will now allow all industries with companies whose revenue was ravaged by the pandemic to apply for help in paying fixed costs such as rent. The new support also includes compensating shuttered bars and restaurants for unusable stock.
Merkel to Push for Tougher Curbs (8:56 a.m. NY)
Germany is heading for harsher restrictions on movement and contact. Chancellor Angela Merkel will propose measures such as closing restaurants and banning major events to the country’s 16 state premiers on Wednesday.
Unlike the previous lockdown in the spring, every effort will be made to keep Europe’s biggest economy running and schools and daycare centers will stay open unless they are in regions with exceptionally high infection rates. German media reported the plans earlier on Tuesday.
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