Coronavirus updates: California imposes tougher restrictions on more counties, SF rolls back reopening

New Zealand and Australia have made "good progress" toward allowing quarantine-free travel between them, but there are still some details to finalize, said Grant Robertson, New Zealand's deputy prime minister.

He told CNBC's Will Koulouris that Australia's success so far in containing Covid-19 nationwide has given New Zealand "the confidence to start moving forward" with the plan to set up a bilateral travel bubble.

He added that both countries are ironing out several issues, including what happens if there's a resurgence in cases, logistics around separating travelers and the status of internal state border restrictions in Australia.

"So there's a little bit more work to do but good progress is being made," Robertson said, adding that he can't yet put a timeline on when the bilateral travel bubble will start.

Australia last month unilaterally opened its borders to New Zealand residents, allowing them to visit several states without having to quarantine. Meanwhile, the New Zealand border is still closed to almost all travelers.

— Yen Nee Lee

Leisure travelers will be allowed to travel quarantine-free between Singapore and Hong Kong from Nov. 22 under a new air travel bubble announced Wednesday.

Passengers traveling between Hong Kong-Singapore will no longer need to isolate on arrival, under the arrangement, but they will need to test negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours prior to departure.

Flights in the air travel bubble will be initially limited to one per day from each city, with a limit of 200 passengers on each flight. The number of flights is expected to increase to two per day from each city from Dec. 7, should the coronavirus remain under control.

Singapore's minister for transport, Ong Ye Kung, hailed the agreement as a "first of its kind," and said it could go some way in reinstating international travel.

—Karen Gilchrist

There should be enough doses of Covid-19 vaccine for Americans who want to be inoculated against the disease by the end of April 2021, White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN's "The Lead."

While that timeline is an estimate, Fauci said it could take "well into the second and third quarter" of next year to convince people to get vaccinated against the virus. However, Pfizer's promising early data showing its Covid-19 vaccine had a more than 90% effectiveness could incentivize people to take the drug sooner, he said.

"I think you're going to get vaccinated within the first four months, I'd say by April you'd be able to get vaccinated," Fauci said in response to a question from CNN Anchor Jake Tapper over when most people could expect a vaccine.

—Noah Higgins-Dunn

Sacramento, San Diego and Stanislaus counties in California have been moved to the state's "widespread" reopening tier, which places the heaviest set of restrictions on businesses and schools for in-person learning.

The widespread level of California's four-tiered reopening system means those counties are reporting a weekly average of more than 7 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people every day, adjusted for number of tests performed, or a positivity rate greater than 8%, according to the state's website.

That means restaurants, gyms and places of worship in those counties will only be allowed to operate outdoors, and schools that have not already reopened can't welcome most of their students back to the classroom. Retailers can only open at 25% capacity, among other restrictions, according to the order.

Meanwhile, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the city would adjust its reopening due to "a significant and rapid increase in COVID-19 case rates in San Francisco, coupled with the current increase in cases and hospitalizations in California and across the United States."

The city will temporarily roll back indoor dining at restaurants and will reduce the capacity allowed at gyms and movie theaters, Breed said in a statement. Officials will also pause the reopening of in-person learning at high schools that have not already welcomed students back. — Noah Higgins-Dunn

States will face some challenges administering Eli Lilly's antibody treatment, U.S. health officials warned, after the FDA authorized the drug to treat Covid-19 patients.

That's because the drug is administered to patients via an IV infusion that takes more than an hour and requires another hour of observation afterward, they said. Health-care facilities must also have the appropriate staffing, training and equipment to accommodate an IV infusion, they added.

"We anticipate that initially there'll be challenges for the health-care system in administering IV infusions to infected patients," Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said on a call with reporters, adding the U.S. government is developing "playbooks" to help states navigate the process."

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the U.S. government will begin distribution of the drug this week. It will be distributed in two phases, with hospitals and hospital-affiliated locations getting it first, followed by outpatient centers. –Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Pfizer's encouraging vaccine news Monday gave some consumers enough comfort to book cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Frank Del Rio said.

Del Rio told analysts on the company's third-quarter earnings call that the vaccine news drove higher-than-usual bookings on Monday. Norwegian's shares were trading down by more than 5% on Tuesday after reporting mixed earnings results and continued uncertainty about when sailing might resume.

"Bookings, the last 24 hours, yesterday, were pretty good, better than the previous four or five Mondays. And that, I think, is attributable to the vaccine news," he said. "We did not have any particular promotion or did any outsized marketing."

—Will Feuer

Italy had 35,098 new Covid-19 cases and 580 deaths related to the virus in the past 24 hours, Reuters reported, citing health officials.

The country's 580 deaths in a single day is the highest since April 14, when the country recorded 602 deaths as the country was amid a lockdown, the news service said.

The latest wave of infections in Italy continues to hit the northern region of Lombardy particularly hard, with the area reporting 10,955 new cases and 129 deaths during the previous 24 hours, according to Reuters.

—Chris Eudaily

Health regulators in Brazil have halted clinical trials of a potential virus vaccine under development by Chinese firm Sinovac, the Associated Press reports, after an "adverse, serious event."

The CoronaVac shot stirred controversy in Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro has cast doubt on its possible effectiveness. The pause follows similar halts of other vaccine trials and is not uncommon.

Officials disclosed an Oct. 29 event prompting the pause, but did not offer specifics.

—Sara Salinas

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said that the country needs another stimulus package, one of the challenges he hopes that President-elect Joe Biden will tackle.

"We need a stimulus measure, I think that is very clear," he told CNBC's Carl Quintanilla in an interviewed that aired Tuesday on "Squawk on the Street."

The $1,200 stimulus checks sent out to Americans in April helped lift sales for struggling restaurants and retailers, and the Paycheck Protection Program sent funding to nearly 700,000 businesses, including McDonald's franchisees. The current impasse has left millions of unemployed workers and struggling businesses in a lurch.

—Amelia Lucas

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and the state's first lady Susanne Shore will quarantine for 14 days after sharing dinner with a person who later tested positive for Covid-19, the Republican governor's office said in a statement.

"On Sunday night, Governor Ricketts and the First Lady joined three people for dinner outside," said Taylor Gage, director of strategic communications, in a statement. "One of the people they joined tested positive for coronavirus on Monday."

Neither Ricketts or Shore are reporting any symptoms and will "get tested at the appropriate time," Gage said.

—Noah Higgins-Dunn

U.S. stocks opened mixed as investors dumped some of the popular stay-at-home plays amid positive vaccine news, reports CNBC's Fred Imbert and Yun Li.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 123 points at the open. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.75%.

—Melodie Warner 

U.K. start-up Hopin said it's raised $125 million at a $2 billion valuation, riding a wave of momentum for virtual events this year as the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of large in-person conferences.

The London-based firm's software lets conference organizers run their gatherings online, aiming to emulate the experience of a physical event with tools for virtual talks and networking. It's seen a wave of demand since March, going from 5,000 registered users to 3.5 million.

Johnny Boufarhat, Hopin's founder and CEO, said the company is now "profitable," generating $20 million in annual recurring revenue. It's latest funding round was co-led by IVP and Tiger Global. Coatue and DFJ Growth also invested.

—Ryan Browne

President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is about to register its third vaccine against the coronavirus, according to Russian news agencies.

The announcement comes a day after pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech BioNTech announced that preliminary results from late-stage clinical trials showed their coronavirus vaccine was 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 among those without evidence of prior infection.

Putin said all Russian coronavirus vaccines were effective and that the country would soon register a third vaccine against the virus, news agency RIA reported Tuesday. He appeared to give no further details about the vaccine or its registration.

He added that Moscow was ready to cooperate on vaccines with all other countries, but warned against the "politicization" of the process.

—Holly Ellyatt

Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC there will be a role for coronavirus antibody therapies, on top of a vaccine to prevent infection should one become widely available.

"I am so pleased to hear about Pfizer's news yesterday, and we hope that makes us obsolete. I don't think it will," Ricks said on "Squawk Box," one day after Eli Lilly received emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 antibody treatment from the Food and Drug Administration.

"Even in well-controlled [other] respiratory illness ... we still have vaccination and antibody therapy because some patients escape the vaccine and still get the condition, and they need to be managed with a therapy," Ricks explained, while adding he hopes the demand for antibody drugs is much less in the future as the pandemic is controlled.

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing start-up Tempus and biotech company Illumina. Gottlieb also serves as co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings′ and Royal Caribbean's "Healthy Sail Panel." 

—Kevin Stankiewicz

As many Americans skip makeup during the coronavirus pandemic, Target and Ulta Beauty are betting on beauty's bright future.

The two retailers have struck a deal to open hundreds of beauty shops inside of Target stores.

Target CEO Brian Cornell said customers will see Ulta Beauty at Target in more than 100 big-box stores, starting in the second half of next year. Each shop will be about 1,000 square feet with more than 40 beauty brands and a rotating assortment of products. Customers can shop in person or use Target's same-day services, such as curbside pickup, to get online beauty purchases.

About 70% of consumers scaled back their use of makeup this year, according to The NPD Group. However, some categories like skincare and hand soaps have gained popularity as shoppers focus on relaxation and self-care, the firm found.

At Target, beauty sales grew by more than 20% in the second quarter. Cornell said Target's deal with Ulta will "build on momentum we have in the category and investments we've been making for years in beauty."

—Melissa Repko

The United States once again topped its prior day record of daily new Covid infections, on a seven-day average, while also crossing the bleak milestone of more than 10 million cases nationwide on Monday.

The seven-day average of daily new cases Monday was 108,964, a 37% increase from a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

Minnesota, South Dakota, New Mexico, West Virginia and Idaho also hit new highs in average daily new deaths, according to JHU data. Twenty states recorded new highs in average current hospitalizations.

—Melodie Warner 

Dr. Scott Gottlieb said the coronavirus pandemic is "about to explode" across the United States as the country confirmed more than 10 million coronavirus cases on Monday, reports CNBC's Emily DeCiccio.

"The challenge is this virus is distributed everywhere across the country right now," Gottlieb said in an interview on "The News with Shepard Smith." "We're going to have a really significant epidemic wave across the entire nation and, unfortunately, it's going to cause a lot of death and disease before we're able to have this therapeutic counterattack, not just with the vaccine, but also with these therapeutic antibodies."

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing start-up Tempus and biotech company Illumina. Gottlieb also serves as co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings′ and Royal Caribbean's "Healthy Sail Panel." 

—Melodie Warner 

FDA clears Eli Lilly drug for emergency use; America tops 10 million cases