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The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus illness COVID-19 in the U.S. rose above 2.2 million on Friday, as Tulsa, Oklahoma geared up for President Donald Trump’s planned campaign rally on Saturday night.
A group of local business owners and residents, worried at the prospect of a fresh outbreak of infections at the 19,000-seat indoor arena if attendees do not observe the safety guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had sued the owner of the venue to block it, but a Tulsa County judge denied their request for an injunction. The group has appealed the decision with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which is expected to make a ruling on Friday, as the Washington Post reported.
The CDC released its guidelines for reopening safely last Friday, and identified the highest risk of spreading the virus as stemming from: “large in-person gatherings where it is difficult for individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and attendees travel from outside the local area.”
See:Considerations for Daily Life and Considerations for Events and Gatherings
Trump’s rallies tend to involve attendees queuing outside for hours before going through security and into arenas, where they cheer, shout and chant, all risk factors for spreading the droplets that contain the virus. The Trump campaign has acknowledged that risk by insisting that those who attend sign legal waivers absolving Trump and his staff of any blame, if people get sick or are injured.
Read: What we do know — and don’t know — about the coronavirus at day 100 of the pandemic
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, reiterated his message that Americans should continue to observe social distancing, frequent hand washing and cover their faces in public in an interview with the Washington Post.
“When you have a congregation of people, you increase the risk. It doesn’t matter why they’re congregating or where they’re congregating. When you have a congregation of people in a setting in which there’s active virus circulating in the community, you are at risk. You need to wear a mask.”
Face masks have been caught up in a culture war that has seen many resist wearing them, including President Donald Trump. The White House has been criticized for failing to push the message that they are important to contain the spread of the illness, although local officials are stepping into the vacuum.
Read: Despite concerning data, White House continues to play down coronavirus worries
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made them mandatory for Californians when in public on Thursday.
Fauci said the virus is “one of the most highly transmissible viruses that we know of,” and urged Americans to pull together and work to get the outbreak under control.
‘It’s tough for everyone. But remember, we are in this all together. We’re not just separate individual components. We’re in it together,” he said.
Latest tallies
There are now 8.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and at least 454,582 people have died, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. At least 4.2 million people have recovered.
The U.S. has the highest case toll in the world at 2.19 million and the highest death toll at 118,436, with 20 states still seeing daily increases in infections, including Florida, Texas and Georgia.
Brazil has 978,142 cases and 47,748 fatalities, the data show, the second-highest death toll in the world.
Russia has 568,292 cases and 7,831 fatalities. India has 380,532 cases and 12,573 deaths.
The U.K. has 301,935 cases and 42,373 deaths, the highest death toll in Europe and now third highest in the world.
Two early hot spots, Spain has 245,268 cases and 27,136 deaths, while Italy has 238,159 cases and 34,514 deaths.
Peru moved past Italy by case numbers, with 244,388 cases and 7,461 deaths.
Chile, Iran, France, Germany, Turkey, Pakistan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Canada are next and all ahead of China, where the illness was first reported late last year.
China has 84,494 cases and 4,638 deaths. China has shut down parts of Beijing after a fresh cluster of cases.
Beijing’s Coronavirus Cases Spoil Its Return to Normal
What are companies saying?
The IPO market continued to heat up with supermarket chain Albertsons Cos. ACI, +3.69% setting terms for its planned deal on Thursday. The company is planning to sell 65.8 million shares priced at $18 to $20 to share, to raise $1.3 billion at the top of the range.
Albertsons is profitable, earning $466 million in 2019 on sales of $62.5 billion. It has reported strong demand for delivery and pickup at its stores during the pandemic. The company has filed to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘ACI.’
Chinese oncology biotech Genetron Holdings Ltd priced its IPO at $16 per American depositary share, above its $11.50 to $13.50 price range. The company upsized the deal early Thursday, indicating strong demand for its paper. The shares will start trading on Nasdaq later Friday, under the ticker symbol “GTH.”
Elsewhere, companies continued to update investors on their reopening plans and post their latest earnings.
Here are the latest things companies have said about COVID-19:
• AMC Theatres, the world’s largest movie-theater operator and a unit of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. AMC, +4.88%, will not require patrons to wear face masks once theaters reopen, Variety reported Thursday. In an interview, AMC CEO Adam Arom told Variety: “We did not want to be drawn into a political controversy. We thought it might be counterproductive if we forced mask wearing on those people who believe strongly that it is not necessary. We think that the vast majority of AMC guests will be wearing masks.” AMC Theatres employees will be required to wear masks, and the theaters will sell masks to moviegoers who want them. AMC is making a number of changes to its theaters amid the pandemic, such as reduced seating and new cleaning procedures. AMC aims to open more than 400 theaters in the U.S. on July 15, and hopes to have almost all operational by the end of July.
• Used car retailer CarMax Inc. KMX, -4.84% posted better-than-expected sales for its fiscal first quarter, despite pressure from the pandemic. “More than 80% of the days in the quarter were negatively impacted by a mix of store closures and limited operations,” the company said. Open stores were further impacted by occupancy restrictions. Same-store used unit sales declined 42%. Sales have picked up since hitting a trough in early April and same-store used unit sales for the two weeks to June 14 were within a 10% range of last year’s sales. The company had $658 million in cash and $1.08 billion in unused capacity on its revolving credit facility, as of May 31
• Bankrupt Hertz Global Holdings Inc.’s HTZ, board’s finance committee determined it was “in the best interests” of the company to end the plan to sell newly issued stock. Hertz filed Monday to sell up to $500 million in shares that would potentially become worthless during the company’s restructuring. Hertz filed for bankruptcy on May 22. Earlier Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Hertz was in talks with lenders to get a loan to fund its bankruptcy reorganization.
• Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. JLL, +0.49% has re-opened more than 75 offices in the U.S., or a little more than half of its portfolio, including its headquarters in Chicago. The real estate management company is on track to reopen nearly 100 offices by the end of July. Internationally, JLL has opened 84 offices in the Asia Pacific region and 78 offices in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
• McDonald’s Corp. MCD, +0.19% plans to hire 260,000 workers in the U.S. this summer as states, and dining rooms, reopen amid the pandemic. McDonald’s has put more than 50 safety precautions in place including temperature checks for workers and social distancing awareness signage in restaurants. Returning customers may also notice that some menu items are missing. Salads, bagels and yogurt parfaits are among 100 items that have been removed for the foreseeable future, according to The Wall Street Journal. The menu changes are an effort to streamline efforts during the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Penn National Gaming Inc. PENN, +5.01% said 30 of its 41 gaming and racing properties have resumed operations after shutting down during the pandemic. That represents 70% of Penn’s regional gaming portfolio in 13 of the 19 states in which it operates. The latest reopenings are at the company’s four Ohio properties, and in Pennsylvania at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course. The company has implemented social distancing and safety protocols at its reopened properties, in line with the recommendations of health experts.
• Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. SWBI, -0.80% topped Wall Street estimates even as COVID-19 hurt sales of outdoor equipment. The company plans to complete its spinoff of American Outdoor Brands Corp. in August. The company changed its name back to Smith & Wesson during the quarter.
