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Two athletes tested positive for Covid-19 in Tokyo’s Olympic Village, less than a week before the opening ceremony of the games.
Southeast Asia continues to reel from a wave of infections that has made the region an epicenter of the virus. Thailand reported a record 11,397 new infections, while Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged his ministers to adopt a “sense of crisis” as the country overtook Brazil in daily cases to become the worst in the world.
In the U.K., Health Secretary Sajid Javid tested positive, two days before England lifts almost all Covid-19 curbs, even as Britain registered more than 50,000 new cases. Thousands took to the streets in France to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s move to pressure people into getting Covid-19 vaccinations.
New York state reported more than 1,000 new cases for first time since mid-May, and a New York City council member called for renewed mask mandates in indoor public spaces.
Key Developments:
Two Athletes Test Positive in Tokyo Olympic Village (11:10 a.m. HK)
Two foreign athletes tested positive for Covid-19 at the Tokyo Olympic Village, the first cases reported among competitors at the village, according to a document from Tokyo’s Olympic organizing committee on Sunday.
The games, which start July 23, will be the first to be held without spectators as Tokyo grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases that prompted the government to declare a fourth state of emergency in the capital earlier this month. The city reported 1,410 new infections on Saturday, the most since Jan. 21. There are 55 positive cases so far tied to the Tokyo Games.
One of the entrances to the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Tokyo, on July 15.
Photographer: Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images
Sydney May Face Further Curbs as Cases Exceed 100 (10:41 a.m. HK)
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian refused to rule out further restrictions as cases in Sydney remained stubbornly high despite tough lockdown measures. Australia’s most populous state recorded 105 new locally-transmitted coronavirus cases, underscoring the challenge of containing the latest outbreak of the delta variant.
“I won’t rule out tweaks in the next few days,” Berejiklian told reporters Sunday. “Our aim is to quash the virus.”
Among the new cases, Berejiklian said she was most concerned with the 27 listed as having been infectious in community, a number that has remained at similar levels for days. They have resulted in emerging hotspots three of Sydney’s districts. Communities in those locations on Saturday were barred from leaving the areas, while the premier ramped up restrictions across Greater Sydney, including tougher rules for non-critical retail trading, and an order to cease construction work until July 30, when the current lockdown is due to end.
Japan Mulls Experiments to Test Social Opening (10:17 a.m. HK)
Japan may begin experiments in September to test how quickly it can ease restrictions on eateries and major events once more people have two vaccine doses, Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported. They could include allowing people to attend a large-scale concert after taking PCR or antibody tests to gauge the effectiveness of the shots, said the report without specifying where it obtained the information.
A government panel will announce its views on the relaxation of limits on eateries and events by Aug. 22, when Tokyo is scheduled to lift a state of emergency, the report said. One in five Japanese had taken two vaccine doses as of Thursday, according to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s office.
Tokyo, which hosts the Olympic Games in less than a week, is struggling to contain resurgent coronavirus cases. The city reported 1,410 new infections on Saturday, the most since Jan. 21, while the athletes’ village registered its first coronavirus case.
Singapore Expands Testing as New Clusters Found (9:38 a.m. HK)
Singapore is testing fishmongers across the country for Covid-19 after discovering that an outbreak at a seafood port had spread to markets and food centers. Three new clusters were identified.
The city-state closed Jurong Fishery Port for deep cleaning and is investigating seven cases there, the health ministry said Saturday. Authorities are testing fishmongers from all markets as a precaution after the virus spread to the Hong Lim market in Chinatown and cases were found in other markets and food centers, it said in a statement. Workers at the port were placed in quarantine earlier this month.
The port cases follow an outbreak linked to karaoke outlets that dealt a blow to the city-state’s efforts to reopen. Singapore reported 60 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases on Saturday, of which 29 were linked to the karaoke cluster. The authorities have temporarily closed hundreds of nightlife venues to curb the spread of the virus and quarantined more than 2,000 people.
Thailand Extends Curbs Amid Record Cases (9:23 a.m. HK)
Thailand extended virus containment measures to three more provinces, including the closure of malls, a night time curfew and advisory against interprovincial travel, as daily coronavirus cases and deaths surged to new records.
The Southeast Asian nation reported 11,397 new infections on Sunday, exceeding 10,000 for the second straight day, despite the imposition of some lockdown-like restrictions since last Monday. There were 141 deaths on Saturday and 101 on Sunday, data from the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration show.
Members of the public wait in line at a Covid-19 testing site set up at Suan Luang Rama VIII bridge in Bangkok, on July 16.
Photographer: Nicolas Axelrod/Bloomberg
Johnson Urges Britons to Get Second Shot (7:01 a.m. HK)
The U.K. government said every adult has been offered a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and two-thirds of the population have had two shots, as the delta variant rages across the country and Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to lift most curbs in England on Monday.
The eight-week gap between first and second inoculations in the U.K. means every adult will have the option of getting both doses by mid-September, the Department of Health and Social Care said. “Let’s finish the job. If you’re over 18, book your jabs today,” Johnson said in a statement.
The U.K. reported 54,674 new Covid cases on Saturday, the most since Jan. 15 as the spread of the delta variant pushes infection rates near records for the pandemic. Hospitalizations rose to 3,964, the most since late March. But the success of the vaccine drive has limited the death count in the latest wave, with 41 deaths reported Saturday, compared with more than 1,800 in a day at the peak in January.
N.Y. Daily Cases Above 1,000 Again (2:43 p.m. NY)
New York state reported more than 1,000 new cases for first time since mid-May, as a city council member called for renewed mask mandates in indoor public spaces. “We need to reverse this trend,” City Councilman Mark D. Levine, who chairs the health committee, tweeted on Saturday.
This week, Los Angeles reimposed mask mandates indoors -- regardless of vaccination status -- and San Francisco and Las Vegas issued mask recommendations as cases driven by the delta variant continue to rise. The variant now represents 41% of samples tested in New York City, up from 26% the previous week.
Earlier, Mayor Bill de Blasio said there were no plans to reimpose mask mandates in New York City.
At the state level, 1,156 new infections were reported on Saturday by Governor Andrew Cuomo after daily case counts briefly dipped below 300 in June. The positive test rate has also been rising, to a seven-day average of 1.19%. Hospitalizations remain low, at 354, as do deaths, at 4.
French Protest ‘Health Pass’ (1 p.m. NY)
Thousands took to the streets across France on Saturday to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s move to pressure people into getting Covid-19 vaccinations -- even as large numbers of fellow citizens are signing up. A vaccination center in the Isere department was vandalized last night, Le Figaro reported.
Macron had made Covid-19 shots mandatory for health care workers and said “health passes” -- which show proof of testing or immunization -- should be obligatory to access venues such as restaurants and cafes. The pass is backed by about 62% of citizens, the Le Parisien newspaper reported, citing an Ipsos/Sopra Steria opinion poll.
“The delta variant is there, we can’t hide it,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Saturday. “The only solution is getting vaccinated.”
Earlier, France confirmed it’s toughening rules on travel from Sunday in an effort to contain a spike in cases linked to delta variant and avoid further lockdowns. Travelers from the U.K. without proof of full vaccination must test negative for Covid-19 within 24 hours of travel, the prime minister’s office said. The U.K. had said arrivals from France would need to quarantine for 10 days, beginning Monday, regardless of vaccination status.
U.K. Health Secretary Tests Positive (8:39 a.m. NY)
British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he tested positive for Covid-19, less than a month after returning to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet to lead the government’s response to the pandemic.
Johnson may have to spend Monday, which he has dubbed “Freedom Day,” in self-isolation because he met Javid on Friday. The U.K. is due to remove virtually all coronavirus restrictions on Monday.
— With assistance by Adam Majendie, Yueqi Yang, Adam Blenford, Sybilla Gross, Takashi Nakamichi, Prim Chuwiruch, James Ludden, Linus Chua, Ranjeetha Pakiam, and Albertina Torsoli
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