Residents
wait on
line to
receive
shots of
the
AstraZeneca
COVID-19
vaccine
at the
Central
Vaccination
Center
in
Bangkok,
Thailand,
Thursday,
July 22,
2021.
(AP
Photo/Sakchai
Lalit) |
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Liang
Wannian,
the
Chinese
co-leader
of the
joint
China-WHO
investigation
into the
origins
of the
COVID-19
pandemic,
speaks
at a
press
conference
at the
State
Council
Information
Office
in
Beijing,
Thursday,
July 22,
2021.
China
cannot
accept
the
World
Health
Organization's
plan for
the
second
phase of
a study
into the
origins
of
COVID-19,
a senior
Chinese
health
official
said
Thursday.
(AP
Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein) |
|
Tokyo
hits
6-month
high in
cases
before
Olympics
By
The
Associated
Press
TOKYO —
Tokyo
has hit
another
six-month
high in
new
coronavirus
cases,
one day
before
the
Olympics.
The
1,979
new
cases
Thursday
are the
highest
since
2,044
were
recorded
on Jan.
15.
Prime
Minister
Yoshihide
Suga and
the
International
Olympic
Committee
have
been
determined
to hold
the
Olympics
despite
the
pandemic.
Suga
placed
Tokyo
under a
state of
emergency
on July
12, but
daily
cases
have
sharply
risen.
Spectators
are
banned
from all
Olympic
venues
in the
Tokyo
area,
with
limited
audiences
allowed
at a few
outlying
sites.
The
emergency
measures,
which
largely
involve
a ban on
alcohol
sales
and
shorter
hours
for
restaurants
and
bars,
are to
last
until
Aug. 22,
after
the
Olympics
end on
Aug. 8.
About
23% of
Japanese
are
fully
vaccinated,
considerably
short of
the
level
believed
necessary
to have
a
meaningful
effect
on
reducing
the risk
in the
general
population.
Japan
has
reported
about
853,000
cases
and
15,100
confirmed
deaths,
most of
them
this
year.
___
MORE
ON THE
PANDEMIC:
—
Tokyo’s
new
virus
cases
near
2,000,
day
before
Olympics
open
—
China
rebuffs
WHO’s
terms
for
further
COVID-19
origins
study
—
Germany’s
Merkel
cites
rising
virus
cases,
urges
vaccination
—
Guinea
pulls
out of
Tokyo
Olympics,
citing
coronavirus
___
Find
more AP
coverage
at
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
and
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
___
HERE’S
WHAT
ELSE IS
HAPPENING:
CONAKRY,
Guinea —
The
African
country
of
Guinea
has
pulled
out of
the
Olympics,
citing
the
coronavirus.
The
decision
will
keep
five
athletes
from
competing
at the
Tokyo
Games.
Minister
of
Sports
Sanoussy
Bantama
Sow made
the
announcement
in a
letter
Wednesday
addressed
to the
president
of the
Guinean
Olympic
committee.
He
blamed
the
virus
and its
variants.
Guinean
Olympic
committee
secretary
general
Ben
Daouda
Nassoko
told The
Associated
Press
only
days
before
the
statement
that
funds
had just
been
released
for the
delegation
to go to
Tokyo.
The five
athletes
impacted
by the
decision
are a
freestyle
wrestler,
swimmers,
and a
track
and judo
participant.
Guinea
has
participated
in the
Olympics
11 times
but has
never
won a
medal.
North
Korea is
the only
other
country
to have
pulled
out of
the
Tokyo
Olympics,
also
citing
concerns
related
to the
coronavirus.
___
DELHI,
India —
India’s
government
has
dismissed
a recent
study
which
estimated
that the
country’s
excess
deaths
during
the
pandemic
could be
10 times
the
official
COVID-19
toll,
calling
it
“misleading”
and
“fallacious.”
On
Tuesday,
new
research
by the
Center
for
Global
Development
estimated
excess
deaths —
the gap
between
those
recorded
and
those
that
would
have
been
expected
— to be
3.4
million
to 4.7
million
since
the
pandemic
began.
It said
an
accurate
figure
may
“prove
elusive”
but the
true
death
toll “is
likely
to be an
order of
magnitude
greater
than the
official
count.”
On
Thursday,
the
health
ministry
released
a
statement
saying
the
methodology
in the
study
was
misleading
and
strongly
cautioned
against
attributing
all of
the
excess
deaths
to
COVID-19.
Most
experts
believe
India’s
official
toll of
more
than
418,000
dead is
a vast
undercount,
but the
government
has
continually
dismissed
these
concerns
as
exaggerated.
On
Thursday,
India
registered
over
41,000
new
cases
and more
than 507
official
deaths.
After a
devastating
surge
earlier
this
year,
confirmed
infections
in India
have
been on
the
decline,
but
authorities
have
warned
that
another
surge is
likely
to hit
in the
coming
months.
Overall,
India
has the
world’s
second-highest
caseload
with
more
than 31
million
confirmed
infections.
___
NAIROBI,
Kenya —
African
countries
next
week
will
begin
receiving
the
first of
400
million
doses of
the
Johnson
&
Johnson
vaccine
they are
purchasing
themselves,
according
to the
African
Union
special
envoy on
vaccine
acquisition.
Strive
Masiyiwa
told
journalists
that 6
million
doses
will
begin to
ship
next
week and
45
African
countries
should
receive
their
first
shipment
by the
end of
August.
Masiyiwa
says all
doses
should
be
delivered
by
September
2022.
The
400
million
doses
represent
the
collective
effort
by
African
countries
to
pursue
doses
outside
the
global
COVAX
project
aimed at
delivering
vaccines
to
low-and
middle-income
nations,
The
COVAX
effort
has
fallen
behind
in
deliveries
because
India
has
imposed
export
controls
on
vaccines.
Because
of
vaccine
nationalism
around
the
world,
Masiyiwa
says
there is
“no
possibility”
the
African
continent
can meet
its goal
of
vaccinating
60% of
its
population
of 1.3
billion
by the
end of
this
year.
Less
than 2%
of the
vaccines
administered
globally
have
been in
Africa,
according
to the
World
Health
Organization,
while
the
Africa
CDC says
29 of
the
continent’s
54
countries
are now
experiencing
a
“severe
third
wave” of
infections.
Separately,
the
United
States
says
this
week it
has
shipped
1
million
Johnson
&
Johnson
doses to
Burkina
Faso,
Djibouti,
Ethiopia,
Gambia
and
Senegal,
and
another
1.2
million
doses go
this
week to
Cameroon,
Lesotho,
Niger,
Zambia
and
Central
African
Republic.
The
deliveries
are part
of a
U.S.
donation
of some
25
million
doses to
African
nations.
___
BERLIN —
Chancellor
Angela
Merkel
says
coronavirus
infections
in
Germany
are
rising
at
worrying
speed.
She is
appealing
to
citizens
to get
vaccinated
and
persuade
others
to do
so.
Germany’s
infection
rate
remains
low
compared
to other
European
countries
but has
been
rising
steadily
since it
bottomed
out at
4.9 new
weekly
cases
per
100,000
residents
on July
6. On
Thursday,
that
rate
stood at
12.2.
Slightly
over 60%
of the
German
population
had
received
a first
dose of
vaccine
by
Thursday,
while
48% were
fully
vaccinated.
But the
vaccination
campaign
has
slowed
in
recent
weeks.
Merkel
told
reporters
Thursday
that
infections
are
rising
with
“worrying
momentum”
and that
“we have
exponential
growth.”
Merkel
said
that “we
all want
our
normality
back”
but “for
this we
need
significantly
more
vaccine
protection.”
She said
that
every
vaccination
counts
toward
bringing
life
back to
normal
for
everyone.
___
SEOUL,
South
Korea —
South
Korea is
reporting
1,842
newly
confirmed
coronavirus
cases
for the
previous
24 hours
—
setting
a new
pandemic
single-day
record
for the
second
straight
day.
The
cases
announced
Thursday
raised
the
country’s
total
caseload
to
184,103,
with
2,063
deaths
from
COVID-19.
The
new
cases
include
270
sailors
who were
recently
flown
home
after a
large-scale
outbreak
on their
destroyer
engaging
in an
anti-piracy
mission
off East
Africa.
South
Korea
has seen
a spike
in
infections
in
recent
weeks
amid a
slow
vaccination
campaign,
lax
public
vigilance
and the
spread
of more
contagious
delta
variant.
The
country’s
daily
caseload
has been
above
over
1,000
for 16
consecutive
days.
Health
officials
say they
are
discussing
whether
to
extend
the
toughest
distancing
restrictions
imposed
on the
densely
populous
Seoul
metropolitan
area.
___
NEW
ORLEANS
— New
Orleans
officials
have
issued
an
advisory
“strongly
recommending”
that
people
resume
wearing
masks
indoors
amid a
surge in
coronavirus
cases to
levels
not seen
in
months.
The
city is
hoping
to avoid
the kind
of
pandemic-related
shutdowns
that
devastated
its
vital
tourism
economy
in 2020,
but
Mayor
LaToya
Cantrell
stopped
short
Wednesday
of
requiring
mask
wearing.
The
mayor
says the
advisory
“puts
the
responsibility
on
individuals
themselves,”
rather
than
have the
city
enforce
a
mandate.
The
announcement
came as
New
Orleans
posted
figures
showing
the
seven-day
average
of new
cases
has
risen
117, the
highest
since
early
February.
It had
fallen
as low
as eight
in
mid-June
but
began
climbing
sharply
in early
July.
___
ATHENS,
Greece —
Police
used
tear gas
and
water
cannons
to
disperse
protesters
who
gathered
Wednesday
in
Athens
to
oppose
coronavirus
vaccination
requirements
proposed
by the
Greek
government.
The
demonstration
in front
of the
parliament
building
took
place
hours
after
the
government
submitted
legislation
to make
COVID-19
vaccinations
mandatory
for
employees
at
nursing
homes
and care
facilities.
Under
the
draft
bill,
staff
members
could be
suspended
without
pay
starting
in
mid-August
if they
fail to
comply.
Officers
fired
the tear
gas and
water
cannons
after
protesters
attempted
to break
through
a police
cordon.
Several
thousand
people
also
joined a
protest
rally in
Greece’s
second-largest
city,
Thessaloniki.
___
SALT
LAKE
CITY —
Utah
recorded
its
highest
number
of
people
hospitalized
due to
COVID-19
in five
months
as the
virus
surges
among
unvaccinated
people.
State
health
officials
renewed
their
pleas
for
people
to get
vaccinated
as Utah
intensive
care
units
reached
81.5%
capacity.
There
are 295
people
who are
hospitalized
due to
the
virus in
the
state,
the
highest
since
February.
Utah
has
averaged
about
622
confirmed
cases
per day
over the
last
week,
about
triple
the case
rate the
state
was
experiencing
at its
lowest
point in
early
June.
State
health
data
shows
the
recent
surge is
almost
entirely
connected
to
unvaccinated
people.
About
66% of
adults
in Utah
have had
at least
one dose
of the
vaccine
and 60%
are
fully
vaccinated.
___
MISSION,
Kan. —
Coronavirus
cases
have
tripled
in the
U.S.
over two
weeks
amid an
onslaught
of
vaccine
misinformation.
The
spike in
infections
is
straining
hospitals,
frustrating
doctors
and
pushing
clergy
into the
fray.
Across
the
U.S.,
the
seven-day
rolling
average
for
daily
new
cases in
the U.S.
rose
over the
past two
weeks to
more
than
37,000
on
Tuesday,
up from
less
than
13,700
on July
6.
That’s
according
to data
from
Johns
Hopkins
University.
Health
officials
blame
the
delta
variant
and
flattening
vaccination
rates.
The
Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention
says
56.2% of
Americans
have
gotten
at least
one dose
of the
vaccine.
Dr.
James
Williams
is a
clinical
associate
professor
of
emergency
medicine
at Texas
Tech and
says he
has been
treating
more
COVID-19
patients.
He says
patients
are
younger
— many
in their
20s, 30s
and 40s
— and
overwhelmingly
unvaccinated.
Williams
says:
“It is
like
seeing
the car
wreck
before
it
happens.”
___
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