US Cases Stabilize As California Set To Become 1st State To Pass 700k COVID-19 Cases: Live Updates

Summary:

• US cases broadly stable Saturday
• India set to challenge Brazil for No. 2 worst outbreak, will reopen underground trains
• UK health minister warns about lockdowns
• Indonesia sees record numbers for 3rd day
• US cases climb DoD on Friday
• California imposes new restrictions on evictions
• Victoria reports fewest new cases since July 4
• India’s new cases slow slightly from record pace

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Update (1900ET): The Sun Belt saw broadly stable numbers for cases, deaths and hospitalizations on Friday, as Texas reported 4,732 new cases, or +0.8%, to 606,530, which is less than the 0.9% average increase over the previous week. Deaths climbed by 154 to 12,420.

California reported 4,981 new virus cases, the lowest daily count since Aug. 4, a level that was below the 14-day average of 5,725. There have been 693,839 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state, while deaths climbed by 144 to 12,834.

Over in Europe, police in Berlin scuffled with far-right protesters demanding an end to Germany’s COVID restrictions. and made about 200 arrests after tens of thousands of people rallied (mostly peacefully). Smaller protests were reported in London and Paris.

Arizona reported 629 cases Saturday, a 0.3% rise, in line with the the average daily increase from the prior week. The state’s total now stands 201,287.

The state reported 29 deaths, for a total of 5,007. The number of fatalities was fewer than the 49 the previous day.

Florida cases climbed by just 0.5% on Saturday to 619,003, in line with the average daily increase of the previous week. Deaths among Florida residents reached 10,957, an increase of 148, and higher than the 89 reported during the prior day.

New York saw hospitalizations drop to a record 458, the smallest number since March 16. Saturday also marks 22 days of testing positivity rate under 1%.

Globally, at least 24.8 million people have had the virus, and 16 million have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University, while more than 839,000 people have died.

India’s government announced plans to reopen its underground train system in New Delhi despite the fact that it’s rapidly catching up to Brazil in terms of number of total cases. The train network will reopen in a phased reopening starting Sept. 7.

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Coronavirus cases climbed in both Europe – where France reported a new post-lockdown record of new cases – and the US yesterday, prompting renewed fears of a second wave. Police in Berlin broke up a march against Germany’s coronavirus restrictions on Saturday because the thousands of demonstrators mostly refused to wear masks and adhere to social distancing rules.

After French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that while he doesn’t want to impose new lockdown restrictions, he would if he felt there was no better alternative, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned in an interview that Britons may face “very extensive” local lockdowns should a feared second wave emerge in the winter.

Hancock added that he’s operating under the assumption that a vaccine will be widely available “some time next year”. Until then, the government will have to rely on three “lines of defense” to stop the spread of the coronavirus: social distancing, testing and tracing and local lockdowns.

Meanwhile, the US added 47,860 virus cases Friday, bringing the total to 5,913,913, as more cases were reported at schools around the country. As President Trump demanded that college football return ASAP, the University of Alabama, a football powerhouse, reported more than 1,000 cases since classes began.

With California on the cusp of becoming the first US state to pass the 700,000 confirmed cases mark, Gov Gavin Newsom said late Friday that the state would impose new rules protecting small business owners from eviction.

Landlords in the state won’t be allowed to evict renters before Jan. 31, 2021, at the earliest, as long as partial payments and certain declarations are made. Meanwhile, landlords will be protected from foreclosure by the banks (though we suspect Wells Fargo will still find a way).

Earlier in the day, Newsom unveiled new economic guidance that will allow industries and counties more flexibility around reopening.

Victoria, the epicenter of the pandemic in Australia, reported 94 new infections for Friday, its lowest reading since July 4, as the outbreak in the region finally abates.

The state’s health department also reported Saturday via Twitter that there were 18 deaths from the disease. The second-largest state has been under strict lockdown restrictions to combat the virus, and the central bank estimates the effective isolation is set to push the national unemployment rate up to 10% later this year.

The country’s largest state, New South Wales, reported 14 new cases, eight of which were linked to an emerging cluster centered on a Sydney gym.

While cases in the US climbed on Friday, Brazil saw case numbers continue to decline. Brazil reported 43,412 cases, fewer than the 44,235 from the prior day, for a total of 3,804,804. Another 855 deaths were reported, a drop from the 984 reported the day before. Brazil’s death toll has now reached 119,504.

For the third straight day, Indonesia on Saturday reported a record jump in new coronavirus infections, with 3,308 new cases taking Indonesia’s tally of infections to 169,195, while 92 new deaths pushed its death toll to 7,261.

After notching a string of its own records, including the most new cases reported in a single-day by any country on earth, India reported 76,472 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, slightly below its record numbers from the past couple of days.

In Nearby Malaysia, the government extended its pandemic-inspired restrictions, including a ban on foreign tourists, until the end of the year.

India has reported a total of 3.46 million cases during the pandemic, a tally that places it behind the US and Brazil in terms of total cases. However, India has reported more cases over the past 2 weeks than both the US and Brazil, making its outbreak the worst active outbreak in the world.