(Bloomberg) — Incoming New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she’s meeting with the state health commissioner to discuss again requiring masks in schools. The National Education Association, a professional group that represents more than 3 million U.S. teachers and other school employees, said all educators should get vaccinated or submit to regular testing.
Blade Urban Air Mobility will be among the first U.S. flight-providers to require passengers be fully vaccinated.
Australia is struggling to control outbreaks after months of lockdown in its main cities. Japan’s serious cases continue to rise.
Key Developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases top 205 million; deaths pass 4.3 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 4.56 billion doses administered
- One of the world’s few delta-free havens eyes reopening
- Tokyo virus situation is out of control, panel expert says
- China’s mahjong dens were major driver of infections
- Understanding the debate over booster shots: QuickTake
Lollapalooza Not a Superspreader (1:07 p.m. NY)
Chicago health officials said the city’s Lollapalooza concert shows no sign of being a superspreader event for Covid-19 earlier this month even with 203 cases being reported by attendees.
Those infected may have been exposed elsewhere, according to Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s health department commissioner. Anyone diagnosed with Covid on or after attending the concert is included, and may or may not have been infected at the concert, she said. Of those, 58 people were Chicago residents, 138 were other parts of Illinois and seven were from out of state, she said. Lollapolooza, which took place July 29 to Aug. 1, drew an estimated 385,000 people, and approximately 90% or more were vaccinated based on measures taken at the site, Arwady said.
Colorado Weighs Paying Kids for Tests (12:52 p.m. NY)
In an effort to encourage Covid-19 surveillance, Colorado is considering paying school children to get tested, perhaps five or more dollars, Governor Jared Polis said at a news conference in Denver on Thursday. Plans are still being reviewed, Polis said. Of the 501 Covid-19 patients hospitalized in Colorado, seven are ages 10 and under, he said. The delta variant has “crowded out” all others, accounting almost 100% of new cases in Colorado, Polis said, and he is recommending schools use face masks to prevent the spread. There are no plans for a mask mandate, the governor said.
U.S. Positive-Test Rate Eases, CDC Says (12:30 p.m. NY)
The nationwide positive-test rate in the U.S. declined during the week that ended Monday, breaking an upward trend fueled by the delta variant, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Thursday.
The rolling seven-day average of viral lab test positivity fell 0.3% in the report, which didn’t explain the decline. The so-called positivity rate fell nationwide to 9.5%, compared with 10.2% in a similar CDC report issued Wednesday.
Hospital admissions for Covid-19 rose 31.3% on a rolling weekly basis, a slightly increased pace compared to 31.1% for the week that ended Sunday, according to CDC data.
Educators Group Supports Vaccine Mandate (11:22 a.m. NY)
National Education Association President Becky Pringle announced support for requirements that all educators receive a Covid-19 vaccination or submit to regular testing, according to a statement Thursday.
“As we enter a new school year amidst a rapidly spreading Delta variant and lagging public vaccination rates, it is clear that the vaccination of those eligible is one of the most effective ways to keep schools safe,” Pringle said.
The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million teachers, administrators, retirees and students.
Blade to Require Passenger Vaccinations (10:58 p.m. NY)
Blade Urban Air Mobility will be among the first U.S. flight-providers to require passengers be fully vaccinated for Covid-19.
Starting Sept. 7, those booking a seat on one of its flights will have to submit a self-certification and may be required to show proof before boarding, Chief Executive Officer Rob Wiesenthal said. Passengers under the age of 12 and those with a medical exemption will be excluded.
Greece to Allow Trade Fairs (10:47 a.m. NY)
Greece will allow the resumption of trade fairs from Sept. 1, country’s Development and Investment Ministry said Thursday. Entry will be via online pre-registration and on presentation of green passes that show vaccinations certificates or antibodies. Unvaccinated workers will be subject to regular testing. Health protocols including the wearing of masks, social distancing and one-way movement of visitors will apply.
New N.Y. Governor Wants Masks in Schools (10:36 a.m. NY)
Incoming New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she is meeting with the state health commissioner to discuss again requiring masks in schools as Covid-19 cases from the contagious delta variant continue to tick up.
“I believe that there will end up being mask mandates. I just don’t have the authority to do so at this point,” she said on Thursday during an interview with the Today Show.
MedAvail Cites Covid for Guidance Cut (8:42 a.m. NY)
Shares in MedAvail slumped 33% in premarket on Thursday after the healthcare company cut its revenue guidance for the full year.
“Primarily due to lingering Covid-19 uncertainties, we have encountered unanticipated headwinds with the timing of Boards of Pharmacy regulatory approvals and we are cautious that clinics will return to pre-Covid volume levels in the second half of 2021.”
JetBlue Sees Short-Term Demand Hit (8:28 a.m. NY)
JetBlue Airways said more customers are holding off on booking trips and others are seeking refunds for planned travel because of increased cases of coronavirus.
The carrier expects illnesses linked to the delta variant to peak in about six to eight weeks, as it has in other countries, CEO Robin Hayes said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
Separately, in a note on Southwest Airlines, Morgan Stanley said its long-term story remained intact and the impact from the delta variant was manageable.
Toronto Landlord Bullish on Reopening (8:15 a.m. NY)
Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, a Canadian landlord to companies including Aon Plc and Morgan Stanley, says the business districts of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will come roaring back to life soon.
With more than 60% of Canada’s population fully vaccinated, some of Allied’s tenants are mapping out plans to bring more employees back in the weeks ahead, Chief Financial Officer Cecilia Williams said in an interview.
Greece to Shift Gears as Cases Rise (6:45 a.m. NY)
The Greek government will be ready to announce its policy on indoor spaces for the autumn and winter by the end of August, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Thursday. Daily increases in new coronavirus cases in Greece have been reaching levels not seen since early April.
Amid a slow down in vaccination rates, a new attempt is needed to get citizens inoculated, especially the young, as people return from summer holidays from Aug. 20 onward, he said. There are no current plans to make vaccinations mandatory beyond health sector workers, Mitsotakis said.
Virus Resurgence Clouds Baidu Outlook (6:05 a.m. NY)
Baidu Inc. delivered a conservative outlook for the current quarter as a resurgent pandemic outbreak in China overshadowed the internet search giant’s push into newer arenas like cloud and smart devices.
Revenue for the three months ended June climbed 20% from a year earlier to 31.35 billion yuan ($4.8 billion). The company predicted sales of 30.6 billion yuan to 33.5 billion yuan for the September quarter, versus the 33.1 billion yuan seen by analysts.“The Covid-19 situation in China is evolving and business visibility is limited,” Baidu said in a statement Thursday.
Israel to Expand Booster Drive (4:43 p.m. HK)
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett instructed health services providers to prepare to expand the coronavirus booster drive to a younger age group next week.
Bennett said he expected to get the final go-ahead from an advisory team later Thursday. Health Ministry Director General Nachman Ash said earlier this week that officials are considering lowering the minimum age to 40 or 50.
Israel began offering a third dose of vaccine to people age 60 and older on Aug. 1, becoming the first country to widely provide such access to boosters.
Tokyo Serious Cases Continue to Rise (4:03 p.m. HK)
Tokyo’s daily case total came in at 4,989, slightly off last week Thursday’s record tally of 5,042, though up from 4,200 cases Wednesday. Serious Covid-19 cases in Tokyo rose to a record 218, up from 197 the previous day.
U.K. Economy Benefits From Reopening (3:16 p.m. HK)
The U.K. economy grew more than expected in June, as lighter coronavirus restrictions led to renewed strength in the nation’s dominant services.
Gross domestic product rose 1%, more than the 0.8% predicted by economists, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. That made growth for the second quarter at 4.8%, close to the 5% pace the Bank of England predicted last week.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak promised the U.K. won’t see a return to the austerity policies of last decade and that he is “united” with Prime Minister Boris Johnson over plans to rebuild the economy after the pandemic.
Calls for Tighter Sydney Lockdown (3:09 p.m. HK)
Australia is facing its worst Covid-19 crisis yet, and experts say a lockdown of its biggest city needs to be ramped up to prevent further deterioration to the nation’s vaunted record in stamping out the pathogen.
Though Sydney has been in lockdown for nearly two months now, the curbs are generally looser than those that helped Melbourne beat back the virus last year; daily cases have surged from 12 on June 26, when the stay-at-home order was first announced, to records of around 350 this week.
The situation is putting Australia in the worst of both worlds: half the population of 26 million people are cooped up again, but the delta variant is still spreading to new cities and regions. National capital Canberra on Thursday became the latest to order a lockdown after one case were found.
End of Lockdowns Lifts Hungarian Bank Earnings (3:01 p.m. HK)
OTP Bank Nyrt., Hungary’s largest lender, posted higher-than-expected second-quarter net income as the easing of pandemic restrictions in eastern and southern Europe helped reduce risk costs.
Though Hungary’s vaccination campaign has slowed to a trickle after a strong start earlier this year, case numbers have remained low, allowing the government to remove almost all constraints on economic activity.
Virus Spread in Tokyo Out of Control (1:30 p.m. HK)
A member of a Tokyo Metropolitan Government coronavirus advisory panel of experts said it was now impossible to control the spread of Covid-19 in the capital.
The comments on behalf of the panel by Norio Omagari at a Thursday meeting with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike came as the city and national governments consider whether to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo, which is experiencing its worst-ever wave of virus cases.
China Partly Shuts World’s Third-Busiest Port (12:30 p.m. HK)
China partly shut the world’s third-busiest container port after a worker became infected with Covid. All inbound and outbound container services at Meishan terminal in Ningbo-Zhoushan port were halted Wednesday until further notice.
It’s the second shutdown of a Chinese port due to an outbreak recently, after the closure of Yantian port in Shenzhen from late May for about a month.
Japan Plans Spectator-Free Paralympics (9:40 a.m. HK)
The Japanese government and organizers are planning to hold the Paralympic games without spectators in Tokyo and other areas covered by the state of emergency, local broadcaster NTV reported.
A decision has not yet been formally made on whether fans could attends the Paralympics, after the Olympic Games ended Sunday mostly without spectators. Organizers had expressed hope the Covid situation might improve enough to make fans a possibility, but that is looking unlikely with Japan reporting a record 15,812 cases on Wednesday, according to a tally by NHK.
(Corrects Colorado item headline on paying for tests.)
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