NYSE Eases Restrictions; U.S. Cases Slow: Virus Update

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(Bloomberg) — The New York Stock Exchange will allow more traders on the floor if they’re fully vaccinated. The confirmed number of cases in the U.S. rose at the slowest pace in the week ended Sunday since the pandemic began, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.

In India, the number of deaths hit a record 3,689 on Sunday, while the number of cases slowed slightly after the country became the first to cross the mark of 400,000 cases in a day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi lost a crucial election as the crisis deepens.

The Biden administration will support Pfizer’s move to start exporting U.S.-made doses of its vaccine, as the White House starts to unleash U.S. production for shot-starved nations abroad.

Key Developments

Global Tracker: Cases top 153 million; deaths exceed 3.2 millionVaccine Tracker: More than 1.17 billion doses have been givenIt’s Not Just India. New Virus Waves Deluge Developing CountriesIndia Travel Ban Means U.S. Visa Workers Remain Stuck AbroadNew York City is roaring back to life, one year after its nadirWhat are vaccine passports and how would they work?: QuickTake

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on cases and deaths.

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NYSE Says More Staff Can Return If Vaccinated (6:47 a.m. HK)

The New York Stock Exchange is opening further to vaccinated traders.

Companies whose staff are based at the exchange will be permitted to raise their headcount if 100% of employees at the site can prove they’re fully vaccinated, according to a memo from NYSE Chief Operating Officer Michael Blaugrund.

The changes go into effect May 10 and are “based on improvement to public health conditions in the New York City area and the continuing progress of the nationwide vaccination rollout,” Blaugrund wrote in the memo.

FDA to Approve Pfizer Shot for Teens: NYT (5:20 p.m. NY)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to authorize the use of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children 12 to 15 years of age as early as next week, the New York Times reported.

If the authorization is granted, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel would likely meet the following day to review the clinical trial data and make recommendations for the vaccine’s use in adolescents, the newspaper said.

Pfizer had reported that none of the adolescents in a clinical trial who received the vaccine developed symptomatic infections, a sign of significant protection.

U.S. Trade Chief Discusses Vaccine IP (4:25 p.m. NY)

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai met virtually with World Intellectual Property Organization Director-General Daren Tang to discuss the role of intellectual property in dealing with the pandemic.

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They spoke about “specific challenges confronting developing countries, and the proposed waiver to certain provisions of the World Trade Organization’s agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights for the Covid-19 pandemic,” the USTR said in an emailed statement.

Ohio Wants More Shots for Nursing Home Staff (4 p.m. NY)

To combat vaccine hesitancy among nursing home workers Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said Monday that he’d give caretakers’ noses a rest if they’d get the shot.

Nursing home employees are currently required to receive Covid-19 tests twice weekly. But DeWine, a Republican, said a new order will exempt employees that are fully vaccinated.

“We hope this change will be encouragement to those who work in nursing homes that haven’t been vaccinated yet,” DeWine said, cracking a smile during a remote news conference he held from his Cedarville home. “If you’re unvaccinated, it’s twice-a-week you’ll be tested.”

The announcement followed a state health investigation into a Covid-19 outbreak in an Ohio veterans home where roughly half of the staff has declined vaccination, according to local reports. DeWine said that state health officials continue to make shots available for anyone working in or living in long-term care.

White House Backs Pfizer Move on Exports (2:50 p.m. NY)

The Biden administration will support Pfizer Inc.’s move to begin exporting U.S.-made doses of its coronavirus vaccine, as the White House starts to unleash U.S. production for shot-starved nations abroad.

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The governments of Mexico and Canada said last week that they expected to begin receiving doses of Pfizer’s vaccine from the U.S., the first time the company’s U.S.-made shots are known to have been delivered to any buyer other than the American government itself.

N.J. Offers Free Beer for Shots (2:20 p.m. NY)

NYC Subways Returning to 24-Hour Service (12:01 p.m. N Y)

Most capacity restrictions will be lifted across the tri-state region on May 19, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

New York City will again have 24-hour subways, boosting transportation options for workers as the most populous U.S. city inches toward normalcy.

In the state, the outdoor food and beverage curfew will be lifted May 17, and the indoor curfew will be lifted on May 31, Cuomo said Monday. The outdoor large stadium capacity will go to 33% in New York state on May 19, Cuomo said. However, New York will maintain the 6-foot (1.8-meter) social-distancing policy recommended by the federal government, the governor said.

BioNTech Soars to Record (11:45 a.m. NY)

BioNTech SE, the vaccine maker partnered with Pfizer Inc. on its Covid-19 shot, rose as much as 10% on Monday as the stock rallied past $200 a share at the open, breaking yet another record after closing at new highs four out of five days last week.

The German company was among the top gainers as the biotech sector regained lost footing and optimism about economies reopening bolstered stocks. Shots from Pfizer and BioNTech as well as Moderna Inc. have helped the U.S. reach more than 245 million doses administered, while side-stepping some of the safety concerns that have arisen for shots from AstraZeneca Plcand Johnson & Johnson.

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WHO Urges Countries to Accept IP Waivers (11:30 a.m. NY)

Vaccine production capacity needs to increase in order to have a significant inoculation rate that will bring herd immunity, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing, adding that’s why a waiver on intellectual property is very important. There are more countries joining South Africa and India in being in favor of an IP waiver, and he said he hopes other nations will be convinced as well to make that a reality.

“There’s no reason, to be honest, not to decide on an IP waiver,” Tedros said. “The provision of waiving IP was meant for emergency conditions, and the level of emergency we’re in now is unprecedented. If we can’t use it now, when can we use it?”

NYC Employees Return to Office (11:05 a.m. NY)

More than 80,000 New York City public workers returned to the office on Monday, as the city asked all employees who had been working from home to return to city buildings. Mayor Bill de Blasio pushed back on concerns by the city’s largest municipal worker union, which said not enough of its workers had been vaccinated yet. Only 34% of its workforce has been vaccinated, according to DC37 Executive Director Henry Garrido. De Blasio also said 180,000 of the 300,000 city workforce has received at least one shot.

U.S. Cases Rise at Slowest Pace of Pandemic (10:35 NY)

Confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose at the slowest pace since the pandemic began in the week ended Sunday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The 1.07% gain was below the previous record of 1.25% set in the seven days ended March 14.

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The total number of new infections increased by 344,448 last week, the lowest since the period ended Oct. 11, before the start of a surge intensified by the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. The slowdown comes even as some states, such as Oregon, are experiencing outbreaks driven by variants of the virus.

Germany’s Oktoberfest Canceled Again (10:30 a.m. NY)

Authorities in Bavaria canceled Oktoberfest again this year. Oktoberfest is “the most global party,” and waiting longer to cancel it would only have caused more economic damage, Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder said on Monday. The beer festival drew 6.3 million people to Munich in 2019.

Florida Prohibits Vaccine ‘Passports’ (10:30 a.m. NY)

Florida businesses and government agencies will be prohibited from requiring people to show proof of a Covid-19 vaccination, starting July 1, under a measure Governor Ron DeSantis signed Monday. In the meantime, all local emergency orders related to the pandemic will be suspended under an executive order signed by the Republican governor.

Businesses, government agencies, or schools face $5,000 for each violation of the ban.

Similar legislation is pending in Iowa. Wisconsin’s governor vetoed a ban on employer vaccine mandates, but Montana’s governor is expected to sign a bill barring private and public employers from requiring workers to be vaccinated.

Hanoi Schools to Close as Cases Rise (9:23 a.m. NY)

Vietnam’s capital instructed its 2 million school-age pupils to stay home and study online starting May 4, as local authorities from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City imposed stiff crackdowns on public gathering sites to quickly contain a rise in local cases.

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