COVID-19 | Daily Update

Sunday, June 14th | COVID-19 Daily Update

CURRENT OUTLOOK

In Portugal, five fatalities and 227 new people infected with COVID-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours, reveals the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS) in its daily epidemiological bulletin.  

The data released today show that the number of fatalities rose from 1,512 to 1,517 (+0.33%), while confirmed cases increased from 36,463 to 36,690 (+0.62%).  

The number of people who won the battle against the infection today is 231, thus rising to 22,669 people recovered by COVID-19 (+1.03%).

 

PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL

The DGS admitted yesterday that it was frequent to register “one or two cases” of infected people on board flights arriving in Portugal, and announced a “gradual reinforcement” of sanitary measures at Portuguese airports. 

Even so, the mortality caused by COVID-19 remains lower in Portugal than in most European counterparts, even though the country is at the top of the list of contagions, next to the United Kingdom and behind Sweden. 

The Minister of Environment and Climate Action considers “non-use” disposable masks “fundamental” and says that the reusable mask makes more economic and environmental sense. Matos Fernandes also recalls that disposable masks must be placed in the common trash. 

The adviser of the communities in France, Rui Barata, today warned the Portuguese Government to prepare for the increase in unemployment among emigrants, asking for the reinforcement of support and the placement of social assistants in the consulates.

Spanish Government President Pedro Sánchez announced today that Spain anticipated the opening of borders with all the countries of the Schengen Area to the 22nd of June, but maintained for July 1st the forecast of reopening with Portugal.

 

PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD

In the past 24 hours, the US has reported 734 deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the total to 115,347 deaths since the pandemic began. The country continues to register about 20 thousand new cases every day.  

Brazil already has 831,064 people infected with the coronavirus distributed across 27 Brazilian states, with a special incidence in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with a total of 41,952 deaths. 

Mexico has a total of 142,690 confirmed infections, which represents an increase of 3,494. 

 

Russia currently accounts for 6,829 deaths, making it the third country in the world in the number of infected, after the USA and Brazil, with more than 520 thousand. 

In China, there were 57 new cases, the highest daily number since April, reinforcing fears of a second wave of the epidemic in the country, while the African continent recorded another 204 deaths, totalling 6,244 deaths, in more than 232,000 cases.

In short, the French news agency AFP reveals that, so far, the pandemic has killed 427,495 people and infected more than 7.7 million worldwide.

More than 20,000 spectators watched yesterday, live, in New Zealand, the return of the great sports competitions without restrictions for the public in the stands.

 

MEDICAL PROGRESS 

The Russian government has announced that in September it will start producing large doses of a vaccine against the new coronavirus. Clinical trials will take place in July, state registration in August, and production will begin in September, said Tatiana Golikova, Russia’s deputy prime minister for Social Policy, Labor, Health, and Social Security.

Johnson & Johnson is accelerating trials of its vaccine for COVID-19 “in a race against time”, according to the company’s scientific director, and against a possible second wave of the virus.

 

ECONOMIC IMPACT 

Closed since March 12th, the bars still have no date to reopen again. Thus, they joined a Movement for the Opening of Bars, which has already sent the Prime Minister a letter asking for the urgent reopening of traditional bars and a meeting to present the sector’s concerns regarding the impacts of the closure. 

Although wine exports had slowed down in April, in the first four months of the year the sector is still on positive ground. In total, 937.8 million litres were sold abroad, amounting to 244.2 million euros. 

Swedish furniture maker Ikea is negotiating with the governments of nine countries, including Portugal, the return of the support it received during the months of confinement, as it is suffering lower than expected losses.

The European Commission (EC) launched a consultation on the creation of a European standard for green bonds, at a time when, despite the increase in emissions of these bonds, there is still no uniform framework in the classification criteria. The aim is to boost the EU as a “global platform for green finance”.

The German government is preparing to approve support measures for training, providing a training bonus of up to 3,000 euros for small and medium-sized companies that have been affected by the pandemic.

 

FINANCIAL MARKETS

Fitch Ratings said yesterday that the participation of the most indebted countries in the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative does not automatically lead to a downgrade of the rating.

“As our rating analysis focuses only on Financial Defaults, participation would not be a default,” analysts wrote in a note on Sub-Saharan African economies. 

Thus, according to the financial rating agency, Cape Verde’s economy is expected to decline by 14%, public debt will rise to 157.1%, and tourism will make a slight recover only in 2021. 

Regarding Angola, Fitch said that it should have to pay around the US $ 5 billion this year in payments of public debt.