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Florida Passes New Jersey With More Than 175,000 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases; Court Orders 3 Defiant Arizona Gyms To Close: Live Updates

July 3, 2020
Tyler Durden

Florida Passes New Jersey With More Than 175,000 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases; Court Orders 3 Defiant Arizona Gyms To Close: Live Updates

Tyler Durden

Fri, 07/03/2020 – 15:15

Summary:

  • Court orders 3 defiant Arizona gyms to close
  • South Africa suffers record jump in new cases; positivity rate ~25%
  • Dallas reports more than 1k cases
  • Arizona hospitalizations at new record high
  • 105 University of Washington students living in frat houses off campus test positive
  • NY reports 9 fatalities
  • Sweden sees deaths, hospitalizations tumble
  • WHO warns against trying to predict when vaccine will be ready
  • ES futures slide as Florida passes NJ with 178k COVID-19 cases
  • Gov Cuomo delivers a holiday weekend warning
  • Britain mandates quarantine for all American visitors
  • US reports another record case jump
  • Total cases (US): ~2,740,000
  • Washington State Gov pauses reopening
  • India reports new record daily jump
  • South Korea sees another 60+ cases
  • China cluster eases
  • Peru death toll tops 10k

* * *

Update (1534ET): While we still haven’t heard much, if anything, from CNN about today’s hydroxychloroquine news, the network reported on three defiant gyms in Arizona that are refusing to shut down again. A court has sent them an official order to cease and desist, If they continue to resist, the owners could face jail.

Meanwhile, South Africa just suffered its worst day yet.

Epidemiologists around the world have been looking toward Africa with increasing alarm over the outbreak, which is picking up steam after getting off to a slow start.

* * *

Update (1500ET): As we wait for the latest update out of Texas, Dallas officials just reported one of their highest single-day totals yet.

To put that into context.

Masks may have contributed to the northeast’s success, but just making masks mandatory simply isn’t enough to stop the outbreak from escalating, as LA County has shown us.

President Trump is set to travel to South Dakota Friday to watch a fireworks display.

Earlier, the FDA approved the first test that tests for COVID-19 and the seasonal flu, which should put Dr. Fauci’s mind at ease.

As we noted earlier, a study has (Finally) shown that hydroxychloroquine can be effective in high-risk patients if taken early enough.

Yet, even with the slow news day due to the holiday weekend, we’re not seeing much attention being paid to this development.

Some college students who allegedly threw “COVID-19 parties” have terrified parents with their nonchalant attitude toward the virus. In the latest story along those lines, more than 100 University of Washington students have tested positive . The students all lived in frat houses near campus, per CBS.

“It really is consistent with what we’ve been observing, which is incredible noncompliance with wearing face masks, social distancing, particularly among young adults and teenagers,” he said.

Looks like the NYT and CNN are going to need to rethink their whole “Gen Z will save us” narrative.

* * *

Update (1205ET): Arizona hospitalizations hit another record high as the state reports another 4,400+ cases and ICU capacity hits dangerously crowded levels (though, as we learned from Houston, there’s overflow capacity that can still be brought on-line). Total hospitalizations rose by 75 to 3,013 over the last 24 hours.

Arizona is reporting 4,433 new coronavirus cases, and 31 more deaths.

The state says 91% of its ICU beds are filled with COVID-19 patients, only 196 licensed beds are left in the entire state.

Maricopa county remains the hardest-hit county in the state. It’s also the most densely populated, being home to Phoenix, one of the biggest cities in the country.

The state’s last record high came earlier this week, on Wednesday.

* * *

Update (1115ET): NY Gov Andrew Cuomo has just released the latest batch of daily COVID-19 figures…and it looks like the state recorded just 9 deaths over the last 24 hrs.

* * *

Update (1100ET): Building on comments from the other day, the WHO’s Dr. Mike Ryan insisted that we can’t yet say reliably when a vaccine will be ready for mass production.

Here’s more from Reuters:

  • WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL TEDROS SAYS EXPECTS INTERIM RESULTS FROM SOLIDARITY TRIAL OF COVID-19 THERAPEUTICS WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS
  • WHO’S MIKE RYAN SAYS NO VACCINE IS FAR ENOUGH ADVANCED TO KNOW WHETHER THERE WILL BE SIGNAL OF EFFICACY
  • UNWISE TO PREDICT WHEN A VACCINE COULD BE ROLLED OUT, VACCINES MAY HAVE SHOWN EFFICACY BY END OF YEAR, QUESTION IS PRODUCTION CAPACITY – WHO’S RYA

Meanwhile, while Sweden still has one of the higher mortality rates overall (5,000+ deaths for a population of 10.2 million), and while the country’s immensely popular method of tackling the virus with no lockdowns has seen its popularity fade as the death toll crossed 5k, the numbers show that Sweden might be one of the closest communities toward achieving herd immunity.

* * *

Update (1030ET): It wasn’t the 10k+ jump from the other day, but Florida reported another 9,488 (+5.6%) cases on Friday, pushing its total case tally past New Jersey’s. The 7-day average is 5.8%.

While we didn’t take out the last record, hospitalizations in the state continued to climb at an alarming rate.

ES aren’t liking this (though fortunately the cash market will have the whole weekend to digest these numbers).

Florida is now No. 4 in the country behind only Texas (No. 3; 182k), California (No. 2; 248k) and New York (No. 1; 400k).

* * *

Update (1000ET): Before you kick back with a bucket-full of Bud’Merica’s and a wheelbarrow full of illegal fireworks, we implore you, dear reader, to read this special holiday weekend message from NY Gov Andrew Cuomo:

Oh and one more thing: If you haven’t spoken to grandma lately, maybe find some time to give her a ring. You would probably make her day.

* * *

Update (0950ET): Joining the EU27, the UK has released an updated list of travel guidelines that will ease restrictions on visitors from dozens of countries, though not the US.

The EU has urged all European states to bar travelers from the US, unless they complete a mandatory 2-week quarantine upon arriving. The notable difference is that the EU will block most Americans from even traveling to Europe, while the UK will permit arrivals, so long as they agree to quarantine under close monitoring.

Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of Scotland’s devolved government, bashed the conservative government’s “shambolic” decision making process, but nonetheless said she would accept the updated guidelines. The devolved governments of Wales and Northern Ireland must also accept the guidelines, or set their own.

Meanwhile, in China’s Hebei Province (not Hubei where Wuhan is) still has hundreds of thousands of families on mandatory lockdowns even as newly confirmed cases have once again trended toward zero.

Elsewhere, South Korea reported 63 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday, another alarming uptick as health authorities scramble to mobilize public health resources in the city of Gwangju, the home of the latest outbreak where more than 50 people were found sickened over the past week.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the new total is 12,967 infections, and 282 deaths.

India reported yet another single-day record jump in new virus cases on Friday, breaking 20k for the second day in a row: 20,903.

The figure took the national total to 625,544. The Ministry of Health also reported an additional 379 deaths, taking the death toll to 18,213. At this rate, India should surpass Russia as the world’s third-worst-hit country in the coming days as Vladimir Putin, having just secured another decade-plus in power, is finally bringing things under control.

In Latin America, Peru’s death toll rose to 10,045 on Thursday, the health ministry said, a day after the Latin American nation began easing a lockdown as its economy teeters on the brink of a serious crisis. The number of deaths rose by 185 in the last 24 hours, while the number of people infected rose to 292,004. Peru has the third-worst outbreak in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico.

* * *

Coronavirus cases in the US hit another daily record on Thursday as Americans prepared for a distinctly joyless Fourth of July weekend that bears none of the sense of joy and revival that the country enjoyed on Memorial Day Weekend. According to JHU, the US reported 52,291 new cases, bringing its nationwide total to 2,739,879.

Source: JHU

Last night, Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee announced that he would pause the phased reopening process for all counties in the state for 2 weeks, joining NY & NJ in delaying some of its reopening plans due to the outbreak int he south and west, while dozens of states – including Texas and Florida, arguably the two hardest hit states – have taken steps to roll back or delay their reopening. He also announced a statewide directive for businesses to require face coverings of all employees and customers, just a few hours after Texas Gov Greg Abbott issued an executive order mandating mask-wearing.

Washington’s decision comes after the state reported 509 new cases yesterday, the highest single-day number since April 8.

While the resurgence of new cases in Washington State is definitely discouraging, heading into the weekend, only a handful of states in the northeast – NY, NJ, Connecticut, Mass., RI, Vermont, NH and Maine – haven’t seen the numbers backslide.

 

To put things in perspective….