Death Toll Passes 800,000; China Vaccine: Virus Update

The U.S. had its fourth day in a row with more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths. Cases and deaths in Florida slowed, while both increased in Arizona. Georgia became the 10th state to pass 5,000 deaths.

• Global Tracker: Cases above 23 million; deaths pass 803,000

• China grants vaccine emergency use for frontline workers

• Three new cases in New Zealand

• Mexico has more than 6,000 more infections

• New cases in Australia’s Victoria, Queensland states

• Trump pressures the FDA, claiming ‘deep state’ slowing vaccine

• Why European countries are keeping deaths in check

• Vaccine Tracker: where we are in the race for protection

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China Grants Vaccine Emergency Use for Frontline Workers (11:35 a.m. HK)

China last month granted approval for the emergency use of a coronavirus vaccine for “special groups” that include medical workers and border-check officials. The purpose is to build an immune barrier among frontline workers to guarantee stability in urban operations, according to China National Biotec Group, the state-owned firm now conducting late stage trials for two inactivated vaccines.

China’s drug regulator yet to approve a coronavirus vaccine. The National Medical Products Administration stipulated in a recently published guideline that such shots need a protection rate of at least 50%, and preferably more than 70%.

More New Zealand Cases Emerge (9:27 a.m. HK)

New Zealand reported three new Covid-19 infections, a day before the government reviews its stance on the lockdown in the city of Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said this week that authorities will “stay the course” on the current strategy, and will consider information from the weekend in the next review.

Two of the new cases were imported, the health ministry said. New Zealand’s case total is now 1,324, as the country fights to quell a new outbreak following months of success containing the virus.

Vietnam Reports More Cases in Danang (9:23 a.m. HK)

Vietnam’s health ministry said late Saturday that the country had 5 more local cases and one death — a 93-year-old man — all in the coastal hotspot of Danang. Cases in the Southeast Asian country, once a model of containment in the region, now total 1,014. There have been 26 deaths.

South Korea Has Close to 400 New Cases (9:20 a.m. HK)

South Korea, which has been battling a new wave of the virus after seeing early success containing it, reported 397 new infections. That brings the country’s total to 17,399.

Mexico Has Thousands More Cases (8:38 a.m. HK)

Mexico reported 6,482 new infections, bringing the hard-hit country’s total to 556,216, according to data released by the Health Ministry. There were 644 more deaths.

The World Health Organization said this week that Mexico’s limited testing meant the pandemic was “clearly under-recognized,” and that Mexico was only performing about three tests per 100,000 people.

Read more on Mexico’s outbreak

Australia’s Queensland Finds Two Cases (8:31 a.m. HK)

The country’s Queensland state had two new virus cases the day after tightening restrictions due to an outbreak at a Brisbane youth detention center. Queensland’s case total stands at 1,105. Gatherings at homes and outdoors across the southeast of the state have been limited to 10 people, and 30 people across the rest of Queensland.

Meanwhile, New South Wales reported another 4 cases.

New Cases in Victoria State (8:05 a.m. HK)

Australia’s hotspot Victoria reported 208 new infections as lockdown in Melbourne continued. The state also had 17 more deaths, Victoria’s department of health and human services tweeted. The new figures came after Victoria reported 182 new cases on Saturday, the second straight day of infections under 200.

California Cases Slow (7:30 a.m. HK)

California added 6,556 new cases to 656,892, lower than the 14-day average of 7,936. The number of deaths rose by 167 to 11,988. The number of hospitalized patients and those in ICU continued to decline.

Georgia Deaths Pass 5,000 (6:43 a.m. HK)

Georgia exceeded 5,000 virus deaths on Saturday, the 10th state in the nation to do so. The Department of Public Health reported a total of 5,092 deaths and 252,222 cases.

Governor Brian Kemp has made headlines during the pandemic, reopening the state early and suing to prevent localities, including Atlanta, from passing mask mandates. He withdrew that suit earlier this month, though exempted enforcement or fines against private businesses.

Earlier this week, he defended his handling of the outbreak, noting that cases and hospitalizations have fallen in recent weeks.

Brazil Deaths Decline for Fourth Day (5:48 p.m. NY)

Virus-related deaths in Brazil increased by 892 in the latest 24-hour period to 114,250, an 0.8% rise that’s less than the 1% average over the previous two weeks. The Health Ministry also reported another 50,032 cases, bringing the total closer to 3.6 million — the second-highest total behind the U.S.

EU Trade Chief Pressured on Golf Outing (5:27 p.m. NY)

European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan faced increasing pressure from the Irish government to explain why he attended a social event during the coronavirus pandemic, raising questions about his hold on the post.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin and Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkarspoke with Hogan on Saturday and “asked him to consider his position,” according to a government spokesperson. Hogan on Friday rejected calls to quit after he and about 80 others attended a function this week organized by the Irish parliament’s golf society.

While Hogan, the EU’s top trade negotiator, apologized for “any distress caused, he said he followed the government’s quarantine rules and had been assured that the event met Ireland’s pandemic guidelines.

Texas Deaths Slow (5:25 p.m. NY)

Texas reported 215 deaths from Covid-19 on Saturday, a four-day low, for a total of 11,266 fatalities, the Department of State Health Services said on its website. There have been 573,139 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the state.

IMHE Predicts 310,000 Deaths by December (2:47 p.m. NY)

Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. could reach almost 310,000 by Dec. 1, according to projections by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. In two other scenarios, universal mask wearing could reduce deaths to about 241,000, and eased restrictions could push the toll as high as 421,000.

IHME, funded partly by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was influential in the early days of the pandemic, including within the Trump administration. The institute was criticized by some as too optimistic and says it has updated its modeling since.

French Infections Stuck at May Levels (2:28 p.m. NY)

France reported 3,602 new cases after two consecutive days with more than 4,000, though infections remain at levels last seen in May, according to government data. Deaths increased by nine to 30,512, the fewest in six days. The toll compares with more than 1,000 deaths on several days in April at the peak of France’s virus crisis.

(Corrects the definition of China’s vaccine emergency use.)