(Bloomberg) — Singapore’s daily Covid-19 case count topped 100 for the seventh straight day on Monday, testing its resolve to continue reopening its economy. Indonesia, Thailand and New Zealand are easing restrictions as new infections decline. In Australia, they’re getting worse.
South African scientists said they identified a new variant that has a concerning number of mutations. Moderna Inc. fell as Japan investigates the deaths of two people who received its Covid-19 shots. A third vaccine dose appeared to curb a delta-led surge in cases and prevent severe disease in a study in Israel.
European Union countries voted to reimpose restrictions on non-essential travel from the U.S., which told citizens to reconsider trips to Germany and Canada.
Key Developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases top 216.9 million; deaths pass 4.5 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 5.26 billion doses administered
- Delta is starting to ruin trade’s epic run on Bloomberg Tracker
- Need a PCR test for your next trip? That could be $6,000
- Where we are hunting for the coronavirus’s origin: QuickTake
- Antibodies waning? The immune system has a backup plan for that
- Call for Covid probe sparked a hacking nightmare in Australia
South Korean Debt Burden Grows to Tackle Covid (10:10 a.m. HK)
South Korea’s budget increase will push the country’s debt load to a record level of more than half the size of the economy, fueling concern over the sustainability of its pandemic spending.
The Finance Ministry proposed an 8.3% increase in fiscal expenditure, to 604.4 trillion won ($518 billion). That’s only slightly smaller than total spending in 2021, which included two extra budgets.
New Zealand Cases Fall a Second Day (9:22 a.m. HK)
New Zealand added another 49 new cases, bringing the total in a community outbreak to 612, the health ministry said. It’s the second straight day the number of new infections has fallen, giving hope to the government’s lockdown to pursue a zero-Covid policy.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said restrictions will be partially eased outside of Auckland, the epicenter of the outbreak, amid signs that the spread of the virus is being brought under control.
Australia Outbreak Worsens (9:00 a.m. HK)
Australia’s months-long outbreak of delta variant cases is worsening, despite half the nation’s population being in lockdown.
New South Wales state, the nation’s largest, recorded its fourth straight day of over 1,000 cases. More than 21,200 people have been infected since mid-June after authorities failed to contain a surge seeded from an unvaccinated chauffeur who was transporting flight crew in Sydney.
Australia’s capital Canberra extended its lockdown by two weeks until at least Sept. 17, after recording 13 cases on Tuesday. The tiny territory, located inside New South Wales state, issued stay-at-home orders on Aug. 12 after finding its first virus case in over a year.
Victoria state will deliver on Wednesday a plan to introduce “modest changes” to begin reopening after a monthlong lockdown, with specific thresholds on vaccination and how many infections it will tolerate, state Premier Daniel Andrews said.
Thai Cases Decline, Rules Relaxed (8:59 a.m. HK)
Thailand’s 14,666 new cases on Tuesday are the lowest since July 27, and the fourth straight day of declines. From tomorrow, the country’s strictest restrictions in 29 provinces, including Bangkok, will be relaxed. Restaurants will be allowed to offer dine-in services, more businesses in shopping malls will reopen and domestic flights will resume.
The Thai government last week approved a “living with Covid” strategy, allowing the economy to reopen provided that the healthcare system doesn’t get overwhelmed. The nation still has 171,368 active cases, with just over 5,000 in critical condition.
Paramount Sues Insurer Over ‘Mission Impossible’ (6:10 a.m. HK)
Paramount Pictures Corp. is the latest entertainment company to go after its insurer over Covid-19-related coverage, suing a Chubb Ltd. unit for failing to fully pay claims related to delays and interruptions caused by the pandemic in the production of “Mission: Impossible 7.” Chubb said it’s company policy not to comment on pending legal matters.
U.S. Raises Germany, Canada Travel Warning (4:25 a.m. HK)
The U.S. State Department told residents to reconsider travel to Germany and Canada amid a “high level” of Covid-19 in the two countries. It raised their travel advisories, separately, by one notch to Level 3.
Brazil Overtakes U.S. in First Doses (3:30 a.m. HK)
Brazil became the latest major country to pass the U.S. in the percentage of its citizens who have had at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, as the government’s inoculation campaign picks up speed and resistance to the shots fades away.
About 63% of Brazilians have now received at least one dose, versus 62% of people in the U.S., according to Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker. Countries including Germany, France and the U.K. have vaccinated at least 65% of the population with one shot, the data show.
White Houses Urges Shot Incentives for Poor (3:15 a.m. HK)
The Biden administration is encouraging states to offer gift cards or similar incentives to low-income people on Medicaid who get the Covid-19 vaccine, in a bid to boost inoculation rates that trail the broader public.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued new guidance Monday to state Medicaid directors, offering federal funding and other assistance to boost vaccination rates among people covered by the health plan. There’s been confusion about whether federal funding can support vaccination efforts in the program, an official familiar with the matter said.
Anti-Vax Talk Show Host Dies of Covid (2:20 a.m. HK)
A conservative talk radio host in Florida who said he wouldn’t get vaccinated has died from Covid-19, making him the third on-air personality who voiced skepticism about the shots to die in August, the New York Post reported.
Marc Bernier, 65, who had characterized himself as “Mr. Anti-Vax” on his weekday WNDB radio show from Daytona Beach, died after a three-week fight against the virus, station officials announced.
Bernier died about a week after Tennessee conservative talk radio host Phil Valentine, 61, died from a protracted battle against the virus. Newsmax anchor and radio host Dick Farrel died from the virus on Aug. 4.
Africa’s Low Immunity Raises Variant Risk (1:50 a.m. HK)
The large number of people in Africa with a weakened immune system makes it ripe for the development of variants, the head of a South African genomics institute said.
The study of an individual with advanced HIV and limited adherence to anti-retroviral treatment showed that a Covid-19 infection persisted for more than 200 days and “multimutational escape variants” developed, Tulio de Oliveira, the head of the institute, said.
Africa is home to the bulk of the world’s HIV infections, with South Africa alone having about 7.7 million affected individuals, and high burdens of diseases such as tuberculosis.
Puerto Rico Adds Outdoor Mask Mandate (1:45 a.m. HK)
Puerto Rico is once again tightening restrictions amid a surge in cases. Starting Sept. 2, most public-facing businesses — including restaurants, shopping centers and nightclubs — must close from midnight to 5 a.m., and alcohol sales are prohibited during those hours. While masks are already required in enclosed areas, they will also now be required outdoors in spaces where there are more than 50 people.
Puerto Rico’s Health Department says 81% of the eligible population has had at least one dose of vaccine and 70% have had two doses. Even so, cases continue to rise.
U.S. Opens Civil-Rights Probe Over Mask Bans (1:10 a.m. HK)
The Education Department opened civil rights investigations in five Republican-led states asking whether bans on school mask mandates discriminate against students with disabilities at severe risk from contracting Covid-19.
The agency’s Office for Civil Rights sent letters to state education leaders in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah Monday notifying them of the reviews.
EU Votes to Reimpose Travel Curbs on U.S. (11:45 p.m. HK)
European Union countries voted to reimpose restrictions on non-essential travel from the U.S. amid a surge in new cases, dealing a fresh blow to the tourism industry. A qualified majority of ambassadors voted to reintroduce the curbs, which had been lifted in June, according to an EU statement.
The U.S. had 588 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the two weeks ending Aug. 22, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, well above the limit of 75 set out in the EU guidelines.
The guidance from the bloc is a recommendation and any decision on who to let in, and what restrictions to impose, ultimately rests with the governments of each member state. Countries can also choose to accept proof of vaccination to waive travel restrictions.
Goldman Sees 750,000 Evictions in U.S. as Rent Bans End (11:34 p.m. HK)
Landlords may evict some 750,000 U.S. households by the end of the year, as lapsing eviction bans and high demand for rental housing push property owners to remove tenants, analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. wrote.
As many as 3.5 million households are behind on rent, with landlords owed as much as $17 billion, the analysts estimated. Delinquent renters have been able to remain in their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Supreme Court lifted a federal ban on evictions last week, and remaining state and local moratoriums are slated to expire later this year.
Moderna Drops as Japan Probes Deaths (10:40 p.m. HK)
Moderna shares fell as much as 5.1% Monday as Japan investigates the deaths of two people who received the company’s Covid-19 shots. Doses from three lots of Moderna’s shot have been halted following reports that foreign particles were found in one of the batches.
U.S. Monthly Deaths Highest Since March (10:35 p.m. HK)
The number of U.S. Covid-19 fatalities in August is already the highest since March, underscoring the deadly nature of the delta variant. The nation recorded 24,274 deaths this month as of Sunday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. Confirmed cases of 3.8 million are the highest since January, at the peak of the winter surge.
Variant Batters Airline Bookings (10:20 p.m. HK)
U.S. airline passengers are planning fewer trips as the spread of the delta variant continues to discourage travel.
Spending for the Labor Day holiday was down 16% from 2019 as of Aug. 21, while bookings were off 15%, according to the Adobe Digital Economy Index. The weekend typically marks the end of stepped-up summer travel for U.S. carriers, with demand often rising as families seek to squeeze in a last trip before school resumes.
South Africa Identifies New Variant (7:09 p.m. HK)
South African scientists said they identified a new coronavirus variant that has a concerning number of mutations.
The so-called C.1.2. variant was first found in May in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng, where Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria, are situated, the scientists said in a research paper published by groups including the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. The variant has since been found in seven other countries in Africa, Oceania, Asia and Europe.
The mutations “are associated with increased transmissibility” and an increased ability to evade antibodies, the scientists said. “It is important to highlight this lineage given its concerning constellation of mutations.”
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