Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of President Trump's eldest son and a top fund-raising official for the Trump re-election campaign, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday before a Fourth of July event at Mount Rushmore, New York Times reported, citing a person familiar with her condition. Trump campaign later confirmed Guilfoyle has contracted the virus.
Worldwide coronavirus cases crossed 11 million. U.S. cases rose 2.1%, higher than the seven-day average, with more than 57,000 infections in 24 hours.
South Korea on Saturday confirmed another 63 new cases, while China reported three, including one local case in Beijing. Brazil remains a hotspot, recording 42,223 new infections. A World Health Organization official said it would be "unwise" to predict when a vaccine might be rolled out.
Key Developments:
New York Times: Kimberly Guilfoyle, Top Fund-Raising Official for Trump Campaign, Tests Positive
Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of President Trump's eldest son and a top fund-raising official for the Trump re-election campaign, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday before a Fourth of July event at Mount Rushmore, New York Times reported, citing a person familiar with her condition said.
Ms. Guilfoyle traveled to South Dakota with Mr. Trump's son Donald Trump Jr., in anticipation of attending a huge fireworks display where the president was set to speak. They did not travel aboard Air Force One, according to the person familiar with her condition, and she was the only person in the group who tested positive.
As a routine precaution, people who come in close contact with Mr. Trumpare screened for the virus.
Ms. Guilfoyle is the third person in possible proximity to Mr. Trump known to have contracted the virus. A personal valet who served Mr. Trump his food and the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pencetested positive for the virus in May.Ms. Guilfoyle was not experiencing symptoms, the person familiar with her condition said. She and the younger Mr. Trump never met up with the president's entourage, the person said. Out of caution, the couple plans to drive back from South Dakota to the East Coast, the person said.
Bolivia Digs Mass Graves as Coronavirus Deaths Surge: Reuters
Bolivians are digging mass graves across the nation as a surge in coronavirus deaths fills up cemeteries, Reuters reported Saturday, citing local funeral homes.
Bolivia has reported more than 35,500 cases of the virus and about 1,270 deaths from Covid-19, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Johns Hopkins. The city of Cochabamba has been hard hit, with back-hoes and trucks being used to open large pits to bury the dead, Reuters reported.
Australia-New Zealand Border May Reopen by September
Australia and New Zealand may reopen their border to travel from the two countries as soon as September, Simon Birmingham, Australia's tourism and trade minister, said in a July 3 interview with the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.
The minister said such a time frame was realistic, though it would require the agreement of New Zealand's government and is subject to uncertainties such as renewed outbreaks.
A Bloomberg News inquiry to the minister's office on Saturday did not receive an immediate response.
South Korea Reports 63 More Cases
South Korea on Saturday confirmed 63 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, raising the total tally to 13,030, according to data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. One more patient died from the disease, bringing the total death toll to 283. The nation reported the same number of new cases on Friday in biggest gain in two weeks.
Lucky Brand Files for Bankruptcy After Pandemic Forces Closures
Lucky Brand Dungarees LLC and affiliates, known for jeans and other apparel, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware after the coronavirus pandemic scuttled restructuring efforts.
The closely-held company has entered into an asset purchase agreement with SPARC Group LLC, which operates brands including AA(c)ropostale and Nautica, for the sale of "substantially all" of its operating assets, according to a company statement. ABG-Lucky LLC, a newly-formed unit of Authentic Brands Group LLC, a brand manager that bought Barneys New York Inc. out of bankruptcy, will acquire Lucky Brand's intellectual property.
Mexico Cases Surge; Venezuela Reports 264 New Infections
Mexico reported 6,740 new confirmed Covid-19 cases, bringing the total to 245,251, according to data released by the Health Ministry Friday night. Deaths rose by 654 to 29,843.
Meanwhile, Venezuela reported 264 new cases, taking the total to 6,537, Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said. Two more people died due to coronavirus, for a total of 59 deaths.
Brazil Cases Rise 2.8%, Deaths Up 2.1%
Brazil reported 42,223 new cases on Friday, a 2.8% rise from the previous day, bringing the national total to more than 1.53 million, the state Health Ministry said. Deaths rose by 1,290, or 2.1%, for a total of 63,174. It was the most fatalities on a single day since June 23.
Brazil has the second highest number of deaths and infections after the U.S.
Virus Forces U.S. Diplomats from Saudi Arabia
Dozens of American diplomats were leaving Saudi Arabia, as cases there continued to rise, Dow Jones reported. The diplomats and their families were scheduled to return on a repatriation flight Saturday, and more are expected to leave soon. Saudi Arabia now has the most cases in the Middle East, over 200,00, second only to Iran. Deaths have topped 1,800.
California Cases Rise 2.3%
California reported a 2.3% increase in new cases, for a total of 248,235 as of Saturday. The state, which has been rolling back its reopening amid new outbreaks, also reported 100 more deaths, for a total of 6,263.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Tests Positive
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he tested positive for the coronavirus and has isolated himself, the latest senior politician sidelined by the virus, Press Trust of India reported.
On Twitter, he said he felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined at home.
The country reported 4,087 new cases on Friday, a 1.9% rise from the previous day, to a total of 221,896, while deaths reached 4,551.
MLB Announces First Test Results
Major League Baseball said 1.2% of its players and staff tested positive for Covid-19 after the first set of results after team members reported for training this week, the league and the players association announced. The groups reported 38 positive tests, of which 31 were players and the remainder were staff. A total of 3,185 tests were conducted.
Nineteen clubs have had one or more individuals test positive during testing. The tests were mandatory and were given prior to the workouts and full baseball activities that began Saturday. The independent Utah laboratory has reported the results through the first week of testing.
A Thousand Pork Workers Tested Positive at JBS Plant in Brazil
More than 1,000 workers at a JBS SA pork plant in Brazil, or a quarter of those tested, were infected with Covid-19, according to figures from the Labor Prosecutor's Office.
While almost all have recovered, the high rate of infection reveals the challenges Brazilian meat companies face to keep plants running as the virus spreads in the nation.
Mass testing at JBS's Dourados plant in Mato Grosso do Sul state started on May 25, according to documents shared by prosecutors. Of 4,134 employees tested, 1,075 were positive through July 1.
U.S. Case Rise 2.1%
Coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose by 57,271 from a day earlier to 2.77 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The 2.1% increase was higher than the average daily increase of 1.8% over the past week. Fatalities rose 0.6% to 129,192.
Air France to Cut 7,500 Jobs
Air France-KLM will cut over 7,500 jobs, warning that it is unlikely to rebound from curbed travel from the coronavirus pandemic before 2024. Europe's second-biggest airline will cut 6,500 jobs at Air France and another 1,020 at its regional carrier, Hop!, the company said in a statement.
Employees who retire or leave on their own are expected to make up about half the reductions.
UAE eases travel limits
United Arab Emirates citizens and resident expatriates can now travel abroad after testing negative for Covid-19, in the latest move by the OPEC nation to ease virus restrictions. Travelers need to comply with requirements in the UAE and destination countries, state news agency WAM reported, citing an official statement. Returning expatriates will require a "pre-examination" in countries where testing facilities are available, WAM said.
UK Reopening Theatres
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government next week will outline a schedule for reopening theaters, museums and the events industry, which have "had an incredibly tough time" during the pandemic. He ruled out another national lockdown.
"We want life to get back as fast as possible to as normal as possible, to get the disease down so that the events and arts industry really have a chance of recovering," Johnson said in a televised press conference from his Downing Street office.
The premier said he would not hesitate to reimpose restrictions, but any closures would be at the local level to control an outbreak. The U.K. lockdown did save hundreds of thousands of lives, he said.
When is the vaccine coming?
Vaccines may show efficacy by the end of this year, but a key question will be whether the scale-up of production will allow mass vaccination to start by early 2021, Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organization's emergencies program, told reporters. "It would be unwise at this point to predict when a vaccine could be rolled out," Ryan said.
Gilead Sciences Inc.'s remdesivir received conditional marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency for treatment of the novel coronavirus in patients with pneumonia who are receiving supplemental oxygen.
The drug, which will carry the brand name of Veklury, is cleared for treatment of adults and adolescent age 12 and older and weighing at least 40 kilograms (88 pounds), Foster City, California-based Gilead said in a statement. The authorization was based on a rolling review of supporting data that began in April 2020, the company said.
Remdesivir is one of two drugs shown to fight the virus in robust clinical trials. The other is dexamethasone, a cheap, generic anti-inflammatory treatment that appears to damp an immune overreaction to the virus.
