TOKYO — Fans are banned from the Tokyo Olympics following a state of emergency aimed at containing rising coronavirus infections in the capital.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the state of emergency. The International Olympic Committee and Japanese organizers followed by banning local fans from the Olympics. Fans from aboard were banned months ago.
“Many people were looking forward to watching the games at the venues, but I would like everyone to fully enjoy watching the games on TV at home,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said after meeting with IOC and Japanese organizers on Thursday.
The emergency declaration was made the same day as the arrival in Japan for IOC President Thomas Bach. He will spend three days in self-isolation at the five-star hotel that lodges IOC members.
__
MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:
— Japan declares virus emergency lasting through Olympics; local fans banned
— Global deaths top 4 million amid rush to vaccinate
— Soccer may be driving increase in virus in England’s men
— What vaccinated people need to know about taking precautions at hotels
___
— Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
___
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s spy agency has told lawmakers there’s no sign that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been inoculated against the coronavirus and his country hasn’t received any foreign vaccines.
Lawmakers who attended the closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service say North Korea’s government is trying to dispel any expectations among ordinary citizens that they’ll receive vaccines from abroad. It’s urging them to boost their anti-virus vigilance.
They added the spy agency says Kim doesn’t appear to have any health problem despite his recent weight loss, which may have been from a diet to improve his health.
___
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan has received 1.13 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan in the second such donation this year.
The nation has benefited from vaccine diplomacy, receiving near 5 million doses from the United States and Japan following its worst outbreak starting in May.
Taiwan has also accused China, which claims the self-ruled island as its renegade territory, of intervening to block the delivery of vaccines. China denies it.
Taiwan had signed commitments to purchase more than 29 million doses of vaccines, but given global supply constraints and manufacturing delays, it was left with only about 700,000 doses when the number of cases rose sharply in May.
The allies of Taiwan have stepped in, enabling the island to start distributing the shots quickly. About 11% of the population have received at least one shot.
___
LONDON — Britain’s transportation secretary says starting in mid-July, fully vaccinated U.K. residents returning to England from most countries will no longer have to quarantine after their journey.
Grant Shapps told lawmakers the change begins July 19. Travelers still must take a coronavirus test three days before returning to the U.K., and within two days after their arrival.
Shapps also confirmed that children under 18 years old won’t need to quarantine after travelling. The changes don’t apply to non-U.K. residents. On July 19, the government will scrap guidance against people traveling to countries on the “amber list,” such as the U.S. and Spain.
Currently, people are advised not to fly to those countries unless it is for business or other exceptional circumstances and need to isolate for 10 days after their trips. Shapps says there’s no change to the hotel quarantine requirement for those arriving from “red list” countries such as India and South Africa, even when they are fully vaccinated.
___
LUXEMBOURG — Luxembourg’s prime minister has left the hospital after four days of tests and treatment for a persistent case of COVID-19 that forced him to delegate some of his work.
The Luxembourg government says “because of the improvement of his health,” Prime Minister Xavier Bettel will reclaim his full functions as prime minister on Friday. Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna had taken over some of the 48-year-old prime minister’s duties earlier in the week.
While hospitalized, Bettel was diagnosed with insufficient oxygen saturation. He also had coughing, headaches and a fever. Bettel received his first coronavirus vaccine in May and was scheduled to get his second AstraZeneca shot on July 1.
___
TOKYO — International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has arrived in Tokyo as Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihde Suga announced a state of emergency that could result in a ban on fans at the games.
The state of emergency will run Monday through Aug. 22. Suga says it’s needed to “prevent the resurgence of the future spread on cases across the country.”
Tokyo reported 920 new cases on Wednesday, up from 714 a week earlier. Only 15% of the Japanese population are fully vaccinated.
The focus of the emergency is a request for bars, restaurants and karaoke parlors serving alcohol to close. Tokyo residents are expected to face stay-home requests and watch the games on TV from home.
The IOC and local organizers are attempting to hold the games during a pandemic despite opposition from the Japanese public and medical community. The postponed Tokyo Olympics are set to open on July 23.
___
BERLIN — German authorities say more than 40% of the population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
However, the pace of the country’s vaccination campaign has eased off. Calls are growing for more creative efforts to reach people who haven’t made appointments to get inoculated, ranging from vaccinations at events to an incentive lottery offering prizes.
Germany’s disease control center says more than 33.9 million people — 40.8% of the population — are fully vaccinated. Nearly 47.9 million — 57.6% of the population — have received at least one shot.
The government wants people to get vaccinated because of the risk posed by the more contagious delta variant, which is now dominant among Germany’s relatively low number of new cases.
Health Minister Jens Spahn tweeted, “With a view to the fall and winter, every vaccination counts now!”
The disease control center says there were an average 710,000 vaccinations per day last week, down from 800,500 a week earlier.
___
LONDON — A closely monitored coronavirus infection survey indicates that men gathering to watch England’s progress in soccer’s European Championship may be a reason why women were less likely to test positive for the virus in recent days.
Interim findings covering June 24 to July 5 from Imperial College London and polling firm Ipsos Mori showed infections quadrupled since the previous so-called React-1 study. According to the survey, one in 170 people in England is infected, and there was a recent doubling time of six days.
Professor Paul Elliott, director of the React program at Imperial’s School of Public Health, said the prevalence of the virus also was higher in men — 0.7% against 0.5% for women. He speculated that men gathering at homes and pubs to watch the Euros was one reason for the trend.
The study was conducted before tens of thousands of spectators watched England beat Denmark 2-1 in a semifinal match on Wednesday evening at London’s Wembley Stadium. England’s win prompted scenes of wild jubilation elsewhere as fans celebrated the national team making its first final in a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup. In Sunday’s final, England will play Italy, again at Wembley.
___
SYDNEY — Australia is attempting to accelerate its sluggish COVID-19 vaccination rollout by encouraging Sydney residents to get their second AstraZeneca shot after two months instead of three.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday he encouraged people to take a second dose of AstraZeneca after two months given a growing cluster of the delta variant that has locked down Sydney for at least three weeks.
Only 10% of Australians over the age of 16 are fully vaccinated. That combined with Australia recording fewer than 31,000 confirmed cases since the pandemic began leaves the population particularly vulnerable to the delta variant, which was first identified in India and is thought more contagious than the original virus and other variants.
Sydney reported on Thursday 38 new cases involving the delta variant in the latest 24-hour period. That was the largest daily tally since a cluster emerged after a limousine driver tested positive on June 16. He is thought to have been infected while transporting a U.S. flight crew from Sydney airport. Around 400 cases are now linked to that driver.
Australian-manufactured AstraZeneca was supposed to become the backbone of Australia’s vaccination program when its rollout began in March. AstraZeneca was initially recommended for all adults in two doses 12 weeks apart.
The vaccine is now only recommended in Australia for adults over age 60 after two women aged 48 and 52 died from rare blood clots that were blamed on AstraZeneca’s product.
___
ISLAMABAD– Britain says it will provide a new package of genomic sequencing support to help Pakistan’s fight against new variants of the coronavirus.
According to a statement released by the British Embassy, Pakistan will be able to draw on U.K. expertise and support to detect quickly new and potentially more dangerous virus variants.
Under an agreement with Pakistan announced Thursday,, the U.K. will share its expertise and will provide reagents – a substance that causes a chemical reaction in test tubes – and other technical support to Pakistan to increase the country’s genomic sequencing capacity.
The latest development comes amid a steady surge in CONVID-19 cases in Pakistan.
Since last year, Pakistan has reported 967,633 confirmed cases and 22,493 virus-related deaths.
___
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Fiji’s medical system is showing signs of strain as a coronavirus outbreak grows. The Pacific island nation reported a record 791 new daily cases and three deaths.
The Ministry of Health says that due to the increase in cases, it will no longer test people for the virus in their homes in and around the capital. The ministry has also suspended all pregnancy services in and around Suva until July 26, saying people experiencing pregnancy emergencies or labor should go directly to Colonial War Memorial Hospital.
Fiji has reported 59 deaths since the outbreak of the delta variant in April, although officials aren’t counting 19 of those as virus fatalities because the patients had serious pre-existing conditions. Home to 940,000 people, Fiji had reported just two COVID-19 deaths before that.
___
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported its biggest daily jump in coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic as long lines snake around testing stations in the capital, where the virus has accelerated following months of complacency.
The 1,275 new cases announced Thursday marked the second straight day above 1,200 and exceeded the previous one-day record of 1,240 set Christmas Day.
More than 1,000 of the infections were in the greater Seoul area, which is home to half the country’s 51 million people.
The viral surge is a worrisome development in a country where 70% of the people are still waiting for their first vaccine shot.
The country has struggled to maintain public vigilance with warmer temperatures and months of fatigue luring larger crowds to restaurants, bars and parks.
___
PORTLAND, Maine — Health officials in Maine say more than half the eligible population is now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in every county in the state.
Maine has one of the highest vaccination rates in the U.S. More than two-thirds of people age 12 and older are fully vaccinated.
Data from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services show that the state’s highest vaccination rate is in Cumberland County, which is the state’s most populated as home to Portland. The rate there is about 80%.
The county with the lowest rate of eligible people fully vaccinated is Somerset, a mostly rural area where the rate is about 53%. That’s still a higher number than many states.
___
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — At least nine people who work at the California state Capitol have contracted the coronavirus, triggering a return of the mask mandate for lawmakers and staff.
Masks have been required in public spaces inside the Capitol throughout the pandemic. But fully vaccinated lawmakers and staff had been allowed to remove their masks in their offices.
Four of the new cases at the Capitol are people who were fully vaccinated.
State data shows such cases are rare. The state has confirmed just 8,699 coronavirus infections among the more than 20 million people vaccinated in the state.
This post was originally published on this site
