Monday Morning Briefing: Trump's COVID-19 status unclear, could return to White House as early as today

The coronavirus

Trump’s medical status unclear
President Trump could be discharged from the hospital where he is being treated for COVID-19 as soon as Monday, according to his doctors, although his condition remains unclear and outside experts warn that his case may be severe.

Sequestered at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington since Friday, Trump has released a series of videos in an effort to reassure the public that he is recovering. “It’s a very interesting journey. I learned a lot about COVID,” he said in a video posted to Twitter on Sunday. Doctors are treating Trump with a steroid, dexmethasone, that is normally used only in the most severe cases.

Trump briefly left the hospital in a motorcade on Sunday to wave to supporters gathered outside, sparking criticism that he was putting others at risk for a political stunt.

Here is what you need to know about the coronavirus right now.

Track the spread of the virus with this state-by-state and county map.

U.S. states see record increases in cases
Nine U.S. states have reported record increases in COVID-19 cases over the last seven days, mostly in the upper Midwest and West where chilly weather is forcing more activities indoors. Daytime highs in many of these states are now in the 50s Fahrenheit. Health experts have long warned that colder temperatures driving people inside could promote the spread of the virus.

‘Nuclear’ lockdown recommendation for Ireland
Ireland’s government faced political and business resistance to a surprise recommendation by health chiefs for Europe’s first major second wave national lockdown to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed as coronavirus cases rise. The National Public Health Emergency Team called for a leap to the highest level of COVID-19 restrictions, Level 5, late on Sunday, just three days after telling government the current Level 2 status for most of the country was appropriate.

Auckland restrictions to be lifted
Coronavirus restrictions in New Zealand’s largest city will be lifted this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday as she expressed confidence a second wave of COVID-19 infections in Auckland has been almost eliminated. The city will move to alert level 1 from 11.59 p.m. on Wednesday, joining the rest of the country, after reporting no new cases in the Auckland cluster for 10 consecutive days. The easing of measures means there will be no 100 person-limit on gatherings in Auckland, and no physical distancing rules in bars and restaurants.

Cineworld brings down the curtain
Cineworld will close all of its UK and U.S. movie theatres this week, leaving as many as 45,000 workers unemployed for the foreseeable future as it strives to survive a coronavirus collapse in film-making and cinema-going. The world’s second-biggest cinema chain said the reluctance of studios to push ahead with major releases such as the new James Bond film had left it no choice but to close all 536 Regal theatres in the U.S. and its 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse theatres in the UK from Oct. 8.

From Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Movie horror, JD.com, Services.
James Bond’s delay spells doom for cinemas, and JD.com’s online pharmacy taps into health trends. Catch up with the latest financial.

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Top Stories

A victory for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Nov. 3 would spell the end of the party for the banking industry which has enjoyed more than $40 billion in regulatory cuts under President Trump’s business-friendly administration.

Two Americans and a Briton won the 2020 Nobel Prize for Medicine for identifying the Hepatitis C virus, in work spanning decades that has helped to limit the spread of the fatal disease and develop antiviral drugs to cure it. The discoveries by scientists Harvey Alter, Charles Rice and Michael Houghton meant there was now a chance of eradicating the Hepatitis C virus, which causes cirrhosis and liver cancer, the award-giving body said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of attacking civilian areas on a ninth day of fighting, the deadliest in the South Caucasus region for more than 25 years. Hundreds of people have been killed in the latest outbreak of war over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountain enclave that belongs to Azerbaijan under international law but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.

Reuters Special Report

COVID-19 has trashed the recycling dream: Since COVID-19, the largest single source of plastic pollution and the most commonly recycled, drinks bottles made of recycled plastic, have become less viable. The recycled plastic to make them is 83% to 93% more expensive than new bottle-grade plastic.

Business and economy

U.S. labor shock from pandemic hit women of color hardest; will it persist?

Recessions typically fall hardest on racial and ethnic minorities, due to bias as well as a last-hired-first-fired dynamic. During economic expansions, job gains typically flow last to those groups, which means less seniority when downturns arrive. For women, the coronavirus recession has posed a shock along two dimensions: More jobs have been lost in service industries and occupations where women are disproportionately represented

2 min read

U.S. coronavirus relief bill complicated by top Republicans testing positive

The renewed effort in Congress to reach a fresh deal to pump coronavirus relief funds into the pandemic-hit economy has been further complicated by the news that President Trump and three Senate Republicans have tested positive.

4 min read

Rich nations tighten firehose of aid as virus outlasts early efforts

If Round One of the coronavirus relief effort was the economic equivalent of “shock and awe,” new plans being developed by the world’s biggest economies for more assistance to businesses and consumers are taking a narrower and more tactical approach.

6 min read

Space Invaders and social media: the Bank of Canada gets relatable with outreach

When the Bank of Canada launched its new $10 bill in 2018, it hid a Space Invaders-like video game called Inflation Busters inside the bill’s web page, a fun diversion that caught on with a wider audience than usual for a central bank. The throwback game is an example of how global central banks are getting creative in delivering their messages directly to the public they serve. It’s a push that has become increasingly important amid the COVID-19 crisis and the rise of misinformation.

4 min read

Top Stories on Reuters TV

Record California wildfires burn over 4 million acres

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Error caused UK to miss over 15,000 COVID cases

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