Coronavirus live updates: New Zealand records first outbreak in 102 days; Global cases top 20 million

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed four new cases of locally acquired Covid-19 on Tuesday, shortly after the country had recorded more than 100 days without any domestic transmission of the virus.

The city of Auckland will now move to alert level 3 restrictions for three days from Wednesday lunchtime, Ardern said, with the rest of the country moving to alert level 2 measures.

To date, New Zealand has recorded 1,570 cases of the coronavirus, with 22 related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. — Sam Meredith

Singapore's economy shrank by 13.2% in the second quarter compared to the same period a year ago — worse than official advance estimates of a 12.6% contraction, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Tuesday. 

On an annualized, seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the Southeast Asian economy contracted by 42.9%, which is deeper than the initially estimated 41.2%, according to the ministry. The latest update also confirmed that Singapore entered a technical recession in the second quarter.

The trade and industry ministry attributed the fall in gross domestic product to a partial lockdown or "circuit breaker" that was in place for most of the April-to-June quarter. The lockdown measures included temporary closures of schools and most workplaces.

As of Monday, Singapore has reported more than 55,200 confirmed coronavirus infections and 27 deaths, the health ministry said. Over 94% of the cumulative confirmed cases were migrant workers living in dormitories, according to official data. — Yen Nee Lee

There are at least 20 million cases of Covid-19 around the world as of Monday night, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed. The United States is the worst-hit country in the world, with at least 5.08 million cases and 163,400 deaths. 

The coronavirus, which was first reported in the Chinese central city of Wuhan late last year, has killed at least 733,929 around the world and ravaged the global economy. —Joanna Tan

Epic Systems delayed its decision to bring thousands of employees back to work after local public officials expressed concerns about the plan. 

Epic stressed that it's taken precautions before it brings back its workers. While several thousand employees have returned to the Verona, Wisconsin-based campus voluntarily, others have expressed that they feel overly pressured to do so. One worker, who asked to remain confidential, noted that Epic is now requiring that those who would prefer to stay home notify human resources, which felt to them like an "intimidation tactic."

Epic did not disclose to CNBC when it expects the rest of its staff to return but expressed its preference that they do so to preserve company culture. It stressed that it still hopes to bring back as many employees as possible, and said that it is working closely with public health officials. —Christina Farr

The biggest mall owner in the country, Simon Property Group, said when it reported quarterly earnings that it collected roughly 73% of its rents from retailers in July, with about 91% of its tenants back open for business today amidst the coronavirus pandemic. 

Simon said in a press release that it collected about 51% of its contractual rent billed for April and May combined, and roughly 69% in June. It said these percentages have not been adjusted for any rent abatements that were granted to tenants, however, to offer some relief. Simon said, altogether, its retail properties in the U.S. were closed for about 10,500 shopping days during the fiscal second quarter because of the Covid-19 crisis, with local mandates restricting many businesses and keeping consumers holed up at home. 

However, as the lights are being turned back on at its malls, Simon Chief Executive David Simon said Monday the company has "generally been encouraged by the shopper response, particularly in certain locations, after re-opening." The real estate owner's shares were down about 1% in after-hours trading, having closed the day up more than 5%. 

Simon reported total revenue for the quarter ended June 30 of $1.06 billion, compared with Wall Street estimates of $1.14 billion, according to data from Refinitiv. —Lauren Thomas 

President Donald Trump really wants to see college football games this fall, but some big conferences might be sitting on the sidelines as the coronavirus pandemic continues in the United States.

Trump fired off tweets endorsing the idea of college teams playing games this season, even as a news report said that the presidents of schools in the Big Ten — one the nation's premier football conferences — have voted to cancel play in the fall.

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"Play College Football," Trump wrote in one tweet.

Another major conference, the Pac-12, is reportedly eyeing playing football games next spring. If the Big Ten and Pac-12 don't play in the fall, it will ramp up pressure on other conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision to follow suit. —Dan Mangan

As winter approaches, so does the cold and flu season. Public health experts are warning that unless case numbers start dwindling between now and then, America could have a "Dickensianly bleak" winter, STAT news reported. 

"I think November, December, January, February are going to be tough months in this country without a vaccine," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Although there is a possibility that a vaccine may be developed before then, there is no guarantee that Americans will be vaccinated by then, the experts said.

"We should be aiming for no transmission before we open the schools and we put kids in harm's way — kids and teachers and their caregivers. And so, if that means no gym, no movie theaters, so be it," said Caroline Buckee, associate director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. —Riya Bhattacharjee, STAT News

Shares of Royal Caribbean jumped Monday after company executives said there is pent-up demand for cruising and that the company has seen "remarkable" bookings even as the coronavirus pandemic has brought the industry nearly to a standstill.

"We have been both humbled and surprised with the amount of bookings we're seeing for 2021 with literally no marketing efforts. And frankly, very little good news," CEO Richard Fain said on a conference call. "But the tone of our bookings, especially as we get into the second half of 2021, has been encouraging. Our guests want to come back... Families want and need to vacation."

Jason Liberty, Royal's CFO, said it's "quite remarkable" that the company has seen the surge in bookings despite "very limited to no marketing." He added that while many of the new bookings are actually rescheduled cruises that were canceled due to the pandemic, "more than 60% of our bookings received since mid-May have been new bookings." —Will Feuer

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged the New York City Police Department to "step up" in enforcing social distancing rules after the state issued 19 violations to bars or restaurants on Sunday. 

"We need the NYPD to step up," he told reporters on a conference call. "I understand the sheriff's office is helpful and that's good news. But the sheriff's office is relatively small ... NYPD is something like 35,000 people. This is an enforcement issue."

Last month, Cuomo cleared New York City to enter the next phase of reopening, but he excluded indoor restaurants, bars, museums and malls. On Friday, Cuomo announced that all school districts across the state had been authorized to reopen for the fall semester, including New York City, the nation's largest school district.

Cuomo said that he is allowing in-person education to resume because school district planning doesn't allow students to be surrounded by "hundreds of people the way you would be in a museum." –Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Across the country, election officials are strategizing ways to incorporate personal protective equipment into their upcoming elections to minimize the spread of the coronavirus as people show up to vote in person in November. 

Because this year is the first time election officials are thinking about PPE, there is no uniform way to distribute it. Some states have relied on the National Guard to disperse the equipment to various drop-off points like polling sites, while others are packaging it along with standard election materials like voting sheets and machines. 

Likewise, there's no single way to determine how much PPE is enough come November. Some states are relying on turnout data from past elections to make the decision, but there are signs that in-person turnout will be substantially lower this year than in previous years because of a widespread push for vote-by-mail services. 

Such challenges have made it difficult to predict and prepare for election execution, and some states worry that funding for PPE will run out. Lawmakers remain engaged in tense negotiations over the parameters of the latest coronavirus stimulus bill, but it's unclear whether the package will include additional election funding. —Yelena Dzhanova

Many Americans are considering adopting pets now that social distancing is the norm. But they should be aware of the costs that come with that companionship.

A new survey from TD Ameritrade finds that 33% of Americans have considered fostering or adopting a furry friend during the pandemic. Those most likely to add a pet to their family are millennials, at 50%, followed by Gen Xers, 33% and baby boomers, 25%.

While most survey respondents said they consider their dogs and cats to be part of the family, many were surprised by how much it costs to have a pet. Dog owners spend up to $1,201 a year on average on their pets, while cat owners shell out up to $687 per year on average, the survey found. —Lorie Konish

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of a "vast global gap" in funding needed to fight the coronavirus and said the agency must "fundamentally scale up the way we are financing" the efforts. 

"While we're grateful for those that have made contributions, we're only 10% of the way to funding the billions required to realize the promise of the ACT Accelerator," he said, referencing the "Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator" effort. 

Still, Tedros cited "green shoots of hope" in fighting combatting the virus spread, even as global cases from the virus near 20 million and deaths approach 750,000.

Some countries in Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Rwanda and islands across the Caribbean and the Pacific were able to suppress the virus early on, Tedros said at a press conference. France, Germany, South Korea, Spain, Italy and the U.K. had major coronavirus outbreaks but were able to suppress it, he said, attributing the decline in cases to strong public health measures. 

The comment came as public health experts and infectious disease specialists say a strong, coordinated message in the United States is more important than ever officials fear the virus may be widely circulating in parts of the Midwest now. —Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Sara Salinas

While coronavirus aid talks have stalled, the Trump administration is willing to return to the table and offer more relief money, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday. 

"We're prepared to put more money on the table," he told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Mnuchin added that the White House would be willing to strike a pandemic aid agreement this week if Democrats offer a "fair deal." 

Talks between the administration, led by Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, ground to a halt on Friday, prompting Trump to take executive action over the weekend to address issues including enhanced unemployment insurance, evictions, student loans and the payroll tax. —Jacob Pramuk

U.S. stocks opened higher after President Donald Trump signed several executive orders aimed at extending coronavirus relief, reports CNBC's Fred Imbert. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 110 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2% along with the Nasdaq Composite. —Melodie Warner 

The number of people passing through TSA airport checkpoints rose for a second consecutive week, on Sunday hitting 831,789, the most since March 17, according to Transportation Security Administration data.

Despite the recent increase in the number of people screened by TSA, the figure is about 30% of what the agency logged at the same point last year. 

Airlines had been hoping for a significant rebound in travel demand during the peak summer season. Carriers are reeling from the pandemic, facing mounting financial losses and warning tens of thousands of employees that their jobs are at risk when the terms of federal aid, which prohibit job cuts, expire in October.

Labor unions and airlines are pushing for $25 billion in additional aid to preserve jobs through March 2021, which has gained bipartisan political support in recent weeks. That sector relief that could be included in the next coronavirus aid package but lawmakers failed to reach a deal for a new package last week. —Leslie Josephs 

Marriott International's second-quarter loss was wider than expected as the coronavirus crisis curbed global travel and led to a plunge in room bookings, Reuters reported. 

Marriott also reported an 84.4% plunge in the key performance metric, revenue per available room (RevPAR).

"While our business continues to be profoundly impacted by Covid-19, we are seeing steady signs of demand returning", Chief Executive Officer Arne Sorenson said in a statement.

The company said it has reopened 91% of its worldwide hotels, compared with 74% in April. —Melodie Warner 

California's top public health official has resigned, shortly after the state fixed a glitch that caused a lag in reporting coronavirus test results, the Associated Press reported. 

Dr. Sonia Angell said she's leaving her role as director and state public health officer at the California Department of Public Health. Her letter to staff did not give a specific reason for her departure.

Sandra Shewry, vice president of external engagement for the California Health Care Foundation, will become acting health director. Dr. Erica Pan, who was recently appointed state epidemiologist, will be the acting state public health officer.

Angell's announcement comes after California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said a glitch caused up to 300,000 records to be backlogged, though not all were coronavirus cases and some could be duplicates. The problem affected the California Reportable Disease Information Exchange, also known as CalREDIE. —Melodie Warner

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said it's "mind-blowing" that the U.S. government has been unable to ramp up its ability to provide rapid coronavirus diagnostic tests months into the outbreak. 

"You're paying billions of dollars in this very inequitable way to get the most worthless test results of any country in the world," he said on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on Sunday. He also reiterated that commercial laboratories should not be compensated for tests that don't return results within three days. "No other country has this testing insanity."

Gates said he's been in touch with the federal government and that he's recommended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention establish a public website to prioritize who gets tested and how quickly.

Quest and LabCorp, two of the largest commercial labs in the U.S., previously warned that they were overwhelmed by the demand for diagnostic testing, creating a lag in turnaround time for test results. Gates said last month that the lag makes most tests a "complete waste" because it takes so long to get results that people can't self-isolate once they find out they have the virus. U.S. officials have repeatedly defended U.S. testing capacity, saying that the country conducts more tests than any other country in the world.

Gates said it's "mind-blowing" that the federal government won't improve the testing because, as he saw it, "they just want to say how great it is," Gates said Sunday. —Will Feuer

German businesses expect that restrictions on public life prompted by the coronavirus will last for another 8.5 months, on average, according to a new survey by the Ifo institute, as new cases in the country raise fresh concerns about reopening the economy.

Companies in the leisure sector said they expect some restrictions to last, on average, 13 months, according to the survey, and businesses in arts activities, restaurants and catering expect restrictive measures to last 11 months. Companies in construction and manufacturing said, on average, they expect restrictions to last 8.2 months and 7.8 months, respectively, CNBC's Holly Ellyat reports.

Germany has managed to bring its Covid-19 outbreak largely under control, though the virus has infected more than 217,300 people in the country and killed at least 9,200, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The Robert Koch Institute, Germany's public health body, has said that the increase in new cases in recent weeks is "very concerning." —Will Feuer

Washington can't reach a stimulus deal; New York green lights fall school reopening