COVID-19 | Daily Update

Friday, July 10th | COVID-19 Daily Update

CURRENT OUTLOOK

The Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS) today announced the occurrence, in the last 24 hours, of two more deaths and 402 new cases of infection by COVID-19 in Portugal.  

According to the institution’s epidemiological bulletin, the number of deaths rose from 1,644 to 1,646 (+0.12%), while the number of confirmed cases increased from 45,277 to 45,679, meaning 402 new infections (+0.89%).  

As for the number of people recovered, it increased from 30,049 to 30,350, plus 301 (+1.00%). 

PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL

Maurizio Barbeschi, advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Director for Sanitary Emergencies, said that Portugal “was not chosen by chance” to host the football Champions League final, but because “it has a strong health system” and “it was one of the countries that best handled” COVID-19.

Today the prime minister visited Loures, where he met with the mayor to assess the pandemic situation in the municipality. 

In the North region, the number of cases has been growing again for two consecutive weeks. However, the president of the National Association of Public Health Doctors hopes that new infections can be brought under control quickly by the experience gained by health organizations. 

In a few days, the structure of the DGS registers two important casualties. After Rita Sá Machado left the post of head of the Epidemiology and Statistics Division, Graça Lima left the position of director of Information and Analysis Services.

 

PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD 

WHO yesterday warned that the new coronavirus is not under control in most parts of the world. According to the organization’s director-general, most countries have yet to find a way to control and manage the pandemic. 

The WHO has also published a new guideline in which it does not rule out the possibility of airborne transmission of the new coronavirus in closed and poorly ventilated spaces, although it recommends further investigation into this form of contagion.

In the USA, Johns Hopkins University recorded 1,011 deaths and 61,790 cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, a daily record in the country with the most infections in the world.  

Still in the American continent, and also in the last 24 hours, Brazil registered 1,220 deaths and 42,619 new cases of infection.  

In Mexico, 7,280 new cases were identified yesterday and 730 deaths were recorded, representing a new daily record for the second consecutive day.

A new daily maximum of cases has also been recorded in India, where 26,506 new infections have been identified in the last 24 hours, which has led some states to impose new confinement measures to try to halt the progression of the disease.

In Asia, China registered four new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, all imported from abroad. 

In Hong Kong, the Government decided to close all schools after yesterday a new outbreak of 42 cases emerged. According to authorities, 34 new infections are locally transmitted.

In Europe, Germany announced 395 new cases, six fatalities, and another 500 cases considered cured in the last 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute said that the contagion rate (R) now stands at 0.66. 

According to the latest AFP news agency balance sheet, the COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 555,000 people and infected more than 12 million worldwide.

 

MEDICAL PROGRESS

A group of experts from the University of Castilla-La Mancha argues that up to 57.4% of patients who had COVID-19 developed some type of neurological symptom, according to a study published in the medical journal “Neurology”. This study is, according to the Spanish agency Efe, the most extensive published so far internationally.

Another study, carried out at the University of Milan and released yesterday, concludes that mothers infected with the new coronavirus can transmit it to their unborn children. The researchers say they have gathered “solid evidence” of transmission in utero.

 

ECONOMIC IMPACT 

INE (Portuguese statistics board) announced today that national exports fell 39% in May, compared to the same period last year, registering “significant decreases” in all categories of products, while, in turn, imports fell by 40.2%. 

INE highlights that this information already reflects the effects of the pandemic, “both in the behaviour of economic activity and in the amount of primary information available in the compilation of the results presented”. 

Yesterday, the Minister of Finance said that he will revise the public deficit estimate upwards from 6.3% to 7%, to accommodate changes to the Supplementary State Budget. According to João Leão, the measure with the “most significant” impact on the deficit is related to payments on account, which “substantially reduces revenue” in 2020, which will be recovered in 2021.

At the European level, more than half of the economists consulted in a survey carried out by Bloomberg are convinced that the European Central Bank should again increase the value of the asset purchase program, launched to support members of the Eurozone to contain the effects of the pandemic. 

Most of these experts anticipate that the reinforcement is expected to be around 500 billion euros.  

As for the USA, the OECD Secretary-General said yesterday that they are facing “an economic and health shock” that can “leave permanent scars”, so he recommends that the US Government continue to offer public assistance to its residents and companies affected by the pandemic. 

In Asia, Reuters says that Japan’s economy is expected to shrink at the fastest pace in decades until March next year, forcing the government to create a new stimulus package to cushion the pandemic blow.

 

FINANCIAL MARKETS

The Portuguese Stock Index PSI-20 started today’s session devaluing 0.42%, with the Portuguese market following the trend of its European counterparts. 

At that time, the DAX, FTSE 100, CAC 40, AEX, IBEX35 and FTSE MIB were down 0.55%, 0.47%, 0.71%, 0.43%, 0.59% and 0.94%, respectively. 

In the oil market, Brent’s barrel depreciated 2.07%, trading at $ 38.80 a barrel, while the WTI price fell 1.70%, to $ 41.62 a barrel. In the foreign exchange market, the euro depreciated 0.16%, to $ 1.12.