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Pfizer Inc.’s chief executive officer said it’s likely the U.S. will deploy a Covid-19 vaccine before the end of the year, while AstraZeneca Plc restarted testing after its trial was halted when a participant fell ill.
South Korea began relaxing social-distancing rules amid a drop in cases, while Thailand tightened border checkpoints to prevent the virus’s spread from neighboring countries. Israel’s cabinet backed a second national lockdown, which will start on the cusp of a Jewish holiday season.
Gatherings in the U.K. will be restricted to no more than six people as new cases climb at a pace not seen since May. U.S. infections steadied after the deadliest day in more than two weeks.
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Pakistan’s Economy Shows Momentum as Cases Slow (7:06 a.m. HK)
Pakistan is showing signs of business activity picking up at a faster clip, as worries about new infections fade in an economy that contracted for the first time in seven decades. Evidence of momentum returning can be seen from growing cement-to-fuel sales and demand for home appliances to cars. That’s happening even as Pakistan added fewer than 2,900 cases last week compared with almost 35,000 cases in a week in June, and 96% of the total 300,000 infected have fully recovered.
Wisconsin New Cases Climb to Record (3:45 p.m. NY)
Confirmed virus cases in Wisconsin increased by 1,582, the most for a single day since the start of the pandemic, raising the total to 89,185.
One person died from the virus over the latest 24-hour period, bringing the toll to 1,210, according to the state Department of Health Services.
California Reports Most Cases in a Week (2:07 p.m NY)
California reported 4,625 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the biggest jump in a week and more than the 14-day average of 3,930.
Deaths increased by 78, less than the 14-day average of 102, according to the health department’s website. More than 14,300 people have died from the virus in California.
Israel Backs Second National Lockdown (2 p.m. NY)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved a second nationwide lockdown starting Friday, brushing aside appeals from business leaders and ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Israeli cabinet ministers voted Sunday to strictly limit movement, gatherings and economic activity for at least three weeks, coinciding with the Jewish new year holiday season.
French Surge Slows in Latest Daily Report (1:30 p.m. NY)
France reported 7,183 new coronavirus cases on Sunday after more than 10,000 a day earlier, which was the most since a national lockdown ended in May.
The seven-day rolling average of new infections extended its steady climb of almost four weeks, rising to 8,045. Six more people died of virus-related illness, pushing the death toll to 30,916.
French leaders and health officials have warned repeatedly that the virus is raging, mainly among young people.
FDA Ex-Head Faults U.S. Health Agencies (1 p.m. NY)
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said U.S. health officials failed the White House by providing inadequate guidance as Covid-19 began spreading through the country.
“The White House did not have the information they needed to make decisions,” Gottlieb said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. U.S. health agencies drew conclusions from “faulty” and “incomplete” information, said Gottlieb, who served as FDA head under Trump until last year.
Pfizer CEO Predicts Vaccine By Year’s End (12:30 p.m. NY)
Pfizer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said it’s “likely” the U.S. will deploy a Covid-19 vaccine to the public before year-end and that the company is prepared for that scenario, pushing back against more tepid expectations shared by health authorities.
Bourla said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he’s “quite comfortable” that the vaccine the company is developing in partnership with BioNTech SE is safe and that it could be available to Americans before 2021, contingent on an approval from U.S. regulators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“I cannot say what the FDA will do,” Bourla said. “But I think it’s a likely scenario, and we are preparing for it.”
Florida Deaths Fall to Three-Month Low (12:24 p.m. NY)
Florida reported eight new deaths among residents, the lowest since June 15, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. That compares with 98 deaths among residents the previous day and a daily average of 107 for the seven preceding days.
The state reported 663,994 total cases on Sunday after an increase of 0.4% from the previous day. That was in line with the average daily increase over the previous seven days.
U.K. Has Third Day With More Than 3,000 Cases (11:35 a.m. NY)
The U.K. reported 3,300 new cases on Sunday, the third straight day over 3,000. Rising cases prompted the U.K. on Thursday to limit to six the number of people who can gather indoors or outdoors, starting Monday.
The number of daily confirmed cases is slightly lower than the 3,497 on Saturday.
Italy’s Cases Fall Slightly (11:27 a.m. NY)
Italy reported 1,458 new cases on Sunday, compared with 1,501 the previous day, with 72,143 daily tests. There were 7 additional deaths, higher than the 6 deaths reported on Saturday. The numbers remain distant from the pandemic’s peak of 6,557 new infections in a day on March 21. Total cases reported since February rose to 287,753.
Portugal’s New Cases at April Levels (9:50 a.m. NY)
Portugal reported 673 cases, bringing the total to 63,983, the government said. The country has had more than 600 daily new confirmed coronavirus cases in three of the last five days, remaining at a level last recorded in April. The number of cases in intensive care units fell.
The government announced last week that from Sept. 15 the limit on gatherings in Portugal will be tightened to 10 people from 20, aligning other regions with a rule that’s already in place for Lisbon.
U.S. Cases and Deaths at Steady Pace (8:08 a.m. NY)
The U.S. added 40,016 cases, a 0.6% rise in line with the average daily increase of the previous seven days. Total cases are now 6,483,064.
Another 708 people died, down from more than 1,200 the day before, but in line with the 0.4% average daily increase of the previous seven days. Total deaths reached 193,676.
Norway Overtakes Sweden in Infection Rate (7:15 a.m. NY)
Norway’s infection rate has risen to 24.8 per 100,000 inhabitants over the past two weeks, overtaking Sweden’s rate of 24.0, Aftenposten reported. That’s despite Norway introducing stricter restrictions than its neighbor.
German Reproduction Rate Keeps Rising (7 a.m. NY)
Germany’s reproduction rate — which measures the average number of people infected by one person — has risen to 1.15, the Robert Koch Institute said. It was 1.0 on Saturday and 0.9 on Sept. 10.
The number of infections rose by 1,713 to 261,448, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The increase was up on the day before but below the 1,898 tally measured on Sept. 8. Germany registered daily new infection numbers as high as 7,000 at the height of the pandemic.
Iran Has More Than 2,000 New Cases (5:50 p.m. HK)
Iran recorded 128 fatalities and 2,089 new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 23,157 in 402,029 known infections, latest Health Ministry figures showed. Over 346,000 people have recovered from the virus with 3,791 patients under treatment in intensive-care units.
Austrian Leader Warns of Tough Months Ahead (5:20 p.m. HK)
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz urged citizens to stick to the rules after coronavirus numbers surged to levels last seen in March.
“What we’re experiencing right now is the beginning of the second wave,” Kurz was quoted as saying by Austria Press Agency. “We’re going to see 1,000 infections soon. Fall and winter will be hard on everybody.”
Health authorities registered 869 new daily infections on Saturday, the highest numbers since March 28. The numbers declined to 463 on Sunday.
South Korea Eases Distancing Rules as Cases Taper (3:35 p.m. HK)
South Korea is relaxing social-distancing rules as the number of confirmed cases tapers after last month’s surge.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said distancing requirements for the Seoul metropolitan area will be lowered to level 2 from level 2.5 for two weeks. The announcement came hours after the government confirmed 121 new coronavirus cases, the second-lowest total in the past month.
Level 2 forbids indoor gatherings of 50 or more people, affecting everything from weddings to amusement parks.
— With assistance by Ian Fisher