(Bloomberg) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments on injecting bleach to kill the coronavirus sparked concern among experts who called it a ‘ridiculous concept’ that would damage the lungs. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is ‘raring to go,’ but will follow doctors’ advice on returning to work.Russia reported the most new cases since April 19 and Germany had its worst day in nearly a week, after Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country is ‘far from being out of the woods.’ New cases in Singapore dropped below 1,000 for the first time in five days.Earlier, Europe’s leaders inched toward an agreement on rebuilding plans, while U.S. lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a $484 billion aid bill, replenishing funding to aid small businesses and provide support for hospitals and virus testing.Key DevelopmentsVirus Tracker: Cases top 2.7 million; deaths exceed 190,000Europe grapples with lockdowns as cases drop and economies reelMnuchin asks for equity stakes in exchange for $17 billion aidGilead sinks after latest data leak on virus drug trialTrump muddles virus response while public support slidesThe week coronavirus got away from Boris Johnson’s governmentSubscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus.Reckitt, Experts Warn Against Using Bleach (5:10 p.m. HK)Reckitt Benckiser Group, which makes Lysol and Dettol, warned against administering disinfectants into the body. “RB has been asked whether internal administration of disinfectants may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus,” the company said. “We must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body.”That comes after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested testing to see if bleach could kill the new coronavirus.“The disinfectant knocks it out in a minute. One minute,” he said. “Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside?” He said it would be “almost a cleaning. It gets in the lungs and does a tremendous number on the lungs.”Bleach is a toxic chemical, and inhaling it could damage the lungs. “Inhaling chlorine bleach would be absolutely the worst thing for the lungs,” said John Balmes, a pulmonoligist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco. “The airway and lungs are not made to be exposed to even an aerosol of disinfectant.”“Not even a low dilution of bleach or isopropyl alcohol is safe,” Balmes said in a telephone interview. “It’s a totally ridiculous concept.”Austria Details Reopening Plan (4:53 p.m. HK)Austria will bring back to school all students aged 6-14 from May 18. Classes will be split in two and taught in shifts to increase social distancing, and masks will be mandatory outside of the actual class rooms.The country is continuing its lockdown easing as the decline of new infections and hospitalizations is robust. New infections were below 100 for the sixth straight day, hospitalizations and intensive care usage remain on a declining trajectory. Only eight patients died with Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the lowest number since March 26.O’Leary May Sue to Stop Airline Bailouts (4:51 p.m. HK)Ryanair Holdings Plc told Europe’s top antitrust official that it may go to court to stop France and other countries from “selectively gifting billions of euros to their inefficient flag carriers.” Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive officer, said in a letter to Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager that the EU would be “forced into an embarrassing U-turn” on state aid if Ryanair won a legal challenge.The national programs should be modified so that Ryanair could get a share of the bailout packages by making sure loan guarantees and other perks are available to “all EU airlines in proportion to their share of traffic in a particular country,” O’Leary said in the April 9 letter seen by Bloomberg News.Ryanair’s intervention threatens to slow government efforts to shower billions of euros of aid on airlines across. France and the Netherlands are readying a bailout package for Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the region’s biggest carrier, has discussed a rescue from Germany and other countries. Italy wants to take over bankrupt Alitalia.German Business Confidence Plummets (4 p.m. HK)German business confidence extended its slump in April with much of the global economy in lockdown and companies anticipating a prolonged period of subdued demand.The Ifo Institute’s index dropped to 74.3, more than economists predicted and a record low. While the prospect of a gradual easing of restrictions may have prevented a steeper decline, reduced spending power from millions of furloughed workers and the persistence of the coronavirus pandemic in some of Germany’s largest trading destinations is set to weigh on business for some time to come.“Sentiment at German companies is catastrophic,” said Ifo President Clemens Fuest. “Companies have never been so pessimistic about the coming months. The coronavirus crisis is striking the German economy with full fury.”Sanofi Boom May Not Last (3:43 p.m. HK)Sanofi’s attributed about half of its 16% profit gain to Covid-19, but the boom will likely be short-lived as the pandemic hinders the drugmaker’s efforts to get some medicines to patients. The sales burst of the first quarter, when patients stocked up on diabetes and rare-disease medicines ahead of lockdowns, is waning, the pharma giant said.Sanofi’s report also hinted at a worrisome trend that doctors have warned about: new patients not getting treatment for their ailments in the era of covid-19. There was a decline in new patients with multiple sclerosis starting on a medicine called Lemtrada due to covid-19, Sanofi said. And efforts to launch a new cancer drug, Sarclisa, were slowed by the crisis.Earlier, Nestle SA reported its fastest sales growth in almost five years as consumers loaded up on frozen food, boosting brands that have faltered in recent years such as Stouffer’s and Hot Pockets. Click here for more European on earnings.Russia Cases Rise 9.3% (3:41 p.m. HK)Confirmed infections rose by 5,849 to 68,622, the most since April 19, as the pace of increase accelerated after having slowed for two days. The number of fatalities rose by 60 to 615.As the economy heads into its deepest slump in over a decade, analysts and bond traders are betting the Bank of Russia will opt for a bigger-than-usual reduction when it meets on Friday.Lufthansa Warns of Cash Crunch (3:23 p.m. HK)Deutsche Lufthansa AG risks running low on cash within weeks, with the German airline saying the global oil rout has deepened its distress, and its survival now depends on a multibillion-euro bailout from four states.Liquidity will fall sharply if Europe’s largest carrier is unable to soon access aid, Lufthansa said late Thursday. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the sprawling airline group to halt most flights, choking off revenue while outgoing costs for ticket refunds and financial obligations strain its reserves.Johnson Is ‘Raring to Go’ (3:13 p.m. HK)Boris Johnson is “much better” and back to his normal energetic self, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, in comments that will fuel speculation the U.K. prime minister is preparing to get back to work. Johnson has been recovering from a severe coronavirus infection at Chequers, his official country residence, since leaving hospital on April 12. He has been easing himself back into his duties with a call to U.S. President Donald Trump and another to the Queen in recent days, but has not been formally working on government business.The Telegraph newspaper reported Johnson has now told aides he wants to schedule meetings with his ministers next week and plans to chair the weekly session of his Cabinet. “That’s a decision for him and his doctors, but he’s much, much better,” Hancock said in an interview with LBC radio on Friday. “I was talking to him yesterday evening. He’s on great form, he’s raring to go, but of course he’s got to talk to his doctors to make the final decision.”Singapore Reports Fewer Than 1,000 New Cases (3:10 p.m. HK)Singapore reported 897 new coronavirus cases, after seeing more than 1,000 infections in each of the previous four days. The vast majority of the new cases came from work permit holders living in migrant worker dormitories, according to the Ministry of Health.Singapore is looking to pivot to a more aggressive coronavirus response strategy that involves mass testing for its population of 5.7 million people as cases in the city-state jumped more than 10-fold this month to cross 11,000.U.K. Retail Sales Post Biggest Drop on Record (2:09 p.m. HK)U.K. retail sales fell the most since records began as restrictions to control the coronavirus forced all but essential stores to close. Sales including auto fuel declined a record 5.1% from February, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Sales excluding fuel dropped 3.7%.German Cases, Deaths Rise by Most in Almost a Week (1:33 p.m. HK)The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths in Germany rose by the most in nearly a week, a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the nation is “far from being out of the woods.”There were 2,481 new cases in the 24 hours through Friday morning, bringing the total to 153,129, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Fatalities rose by 260 to 5,575 and the death rate edged up by about a 10th of a percentage point to 3.6%. Some 103,300 people have recovered from the disease, more than any other nation.China Cuts Another Policy Rate (11:47 a.m. HK)China’s central bank rolled over some of the targeted funds due Friday while cutting interest rates on the loans, the latest in a string of measures aimed at ensuring sufficient liquidity.A flurry of measures in recent months have kept liquidity ample to support China’s weakened economy, with data last week showing the first contraction in decades in the first quarter. Lockdowns to contain the coronavirus are set to result in the country’s slowest annual economic growth since the 1970s.Philippines Says Leeway to Spend for Virus Fight Narrows (11:32 a.m. HK)The Philippines’ spending leeway to fight the coronavirus pandemic has narrowed as its key economic engine remains on lockdown, officials said. “The money is dwindling,” President Rodrigo Duterte said in a recorded briefing, adding that the government isn’t able to collect taxes with businesses shut.The Philippines is extending until May 15 the lockdown of its capital and some nearby areas that account for majority of its economic output to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.South Korea to Use Wristbands on Violators (10:24 a.m.)South Korea will require violators of the self-isolation rule to wear tracking wristbands beginning April 27, the health ministry said. If violators resist wearing the bands, they will be sent to a separate facility, the ministry said. As of April 22, more than 46,000 people were under self-isolation.South Korea reported six more coronavirus cases for the past 24 hours, marking a total tally of 10,708. New cases have slowed from a daily peak of more than 900 in late February. The country reported no new fatalities.Mnuchin Asks for Equity Stakes in Exchange for Aid (9:47 a.m. HK)U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will require public companies deemed critical to national security that seek a share of $17 billion in virus-related relief to offer an equity stake to the government.For private companies, Mnuchin “may, in his discretion, accept senior debt instruments” or other financial interests, the Treasury Department said in the 10-page loan application posted on its website late Thursday.China Adds 6 Coronavirus Cases, No Deaths (8:50 a.m. HK)China reported no deaths from the coronavirus for a ninth straight day. The country had six additional coronavirus cases by end of April 23, with two of them from abroad, according to a statement from the country’s National Health Commission.China reported 34 asymptomatic cases. It has 979 asymptomatic coronavirus cases under medical observation as of April 23. Confirmed coronavirus cases in China total 82,804, with the death toll at 4,632.Boeing Set to Cut Dreamliner Output, Jobs (7:44 a.m. HK)Boeing Co. is poised to cut 787 Dreamliner output by about half and announce workforce reductions when it reports first-quarter earnings next week, said people familiar with the plans.Dave Calhoun, Boeing’s chief executive officer, warned employees last month of a “new reality” when the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic. Global airline sales are projected to plunge by $314 billion this year, and travel may not recover fully until mid-decade.House Overwhelmingly Passes Aid Bill (7:20 a.m. HK)The House overwhelmingly passed and sent to President Donald Trump a $484 billion coronavirus aid package, even as members are already at odds over the next phase of rescue legislation.Thursday’s bipartisan 388-5 approval was delivered by lawmakers wearing masks and entering the House chamber under strict health precautions. Trump said at a White House briefing he is likely to sign the bill Thursday night.The measure would replenish funding to the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses and provide other spending for hospitals and virus testing. It’s the fourth coronavirus-related spending measure since early March, at a total cost of almost $3 trillion.Mnuchin Weighs Lending Program for Oil Firms (7:15 a.m. HK)Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he’s considering the creation of a government lending program for U.S. oil companies, who are looking for federal aid as they cope with a devastating plunge in prices. He would not say whether the lending program would be housed at his agency or at the Federal Reserve, which has created a number of loan facilities for businesses suffering from the economic collapse brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
