Covid-19 Pandemic
 Here’s the latest news from the global pandemic. Virus surges across the U.S. with reopenings in disarray EU may opt to keep U.S. travelers out on virus concerns China’s virus-safety demand challenges Trump’s trade deal How to avoid another lockdown It’s tempting to look for mitigating explanations for growing Covid-19 case counts in states like Arizona, Texas, and Florida, whether you’re a day trader or want life to get back to normal. Unfortunately, there’s no getting around the fact that this resurgence is concerning. If states want to curb cases without resorting to blunt measures like broad lockdowns, they need to move quickly. Reopening only works if people feel safe. Ever-rising positive test rates belie the notion that expanded testing is to blame. The less concerned crowd also points out that there are still hospital beds to spare and that death rates remain low, possibly because outbreaks are skewing younger. Each one of these things is true, to a certain extent. None of them are good excuses to avoid action. Outbreaks don’t politely distribute themselves according to available beds, a reality which is already manifesting itself in reports of filling intensive care units in Houston. Hospital stays for severe Covid infection are often quite lengthy, which means that beds are quicker to fill than empty. Deaths lag even severe outbreaks due to sometimes lengthy stays in hospital, and inconsistent reporting. When cases surge, mortality may not follow right away, but it is likely to at some point.  Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, wears a protective mask during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg The lower median age of those testing positive in some states may lower death rates in the near-term, though it’s early to make that call, according to top U.S. infectious disease scientist Anthony Fauci. However, if the thesis proves out, enough younger cases will still lead to bad outcomes, potential long-term health consequences, and make it dramatically harder to protect higher-risk and older individuals. The data make it pretty clear that some states opened too broadly and incautiously, with too much Covid circulating. Cracking down on businesses that don’t require distancing, closing those like nightclubs that never should have been opened, boosting contact-tracing and isolation efforts and enforcing broad mask use can significantly reduce transmission risk. Such efforts take time to have an effect and get less effective as case counts grow; a sense of urgency is overdue. If preventing further lockdowns isn’t enough motivation to act, the economic case should help. If current attitudes and infrastructure can’t keep cases down now, with a relatively low level of activity and large gatherings, how do states expect to open schools and hold bigger events in the fall?—Max Nisen Latest podcast The Next Two Years of the Virus How do we adjust our thinking from beating the virus, to coexisting with it? Michelle Fay Cortez discusses the next phase of the virus, and what public health professionals say we have to do to survive it.  What you should read Japan Struggles to Pump Out Pandemic Aid Almost 40% of universal cash benefits still stuck in red tape. Passengers Hiding Infections Threaten Air Travel Controlling the pandemic while seeking the safest ways to reopen borders. India Has a Lockdown Gaming Mania Ludo King, the biggest India-made gaming app, has been booming. Schoolchildren Don’t Spread Virus, Study Says Results offer justification for long-hoped-for school reopenings. Boris Johnson Gambles on Lifting Lockdown Prime minister urges the public to get back to spending. Know someone else who would like this newsletter? Have them sign up here. Have any questions, concerns, or news tips on Covid-19 news? Get in touch or help us cover the story. Like this newsletter? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Follow Us Get the newsletter You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Daily newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022 |
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