World Coronavirus Dispatch: Odds of spectator-less Olympics are high

Thailand to weigh partial lockdown, Delta variant is now dominant in US, and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Thailand to weigh partial lockdown after 10-fold Covid surge

Amid increased demands from health experts for strict containment measures following a ten-fold increase in infections since early April, Thailand's top Covid panel is set to consider a partial lockdown that may cover the greater Bangkok area, to bring down the infection rate. The surge in cases has threatened to derail Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha’s pledge to fully reopen the country in about 100 days. Thailand, the first country outside China to report a Covid infection, has struggled to stem the pandemic after its initial success to combat the virus last year. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 185,088,498

Global deaths: 4,001,920

Vaccine doses administered: 3,326,765,213

Nations with most cases: US (33,770,444), India (30,709,557), Brazil (18,909,037), France (5,856,682), Russia (5,614,540).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Tokyo’s virus-stricken Olympics looks set to ban spectators

The Japanese government imposed a new state of emergency in Tokyo just two weeks ahead of the Olympics, marking a body blow to the idea that fans will be allowed to enter the Games. Fans were expected to be excluded from all events in Tokyo and the surrounding areas, the Asahi newspaper said, citing unidentified officials. The state of emergency was unlikely to trigger a full cancellation of the games, set to run from July 23 to August 8, with officials from the organizing committee having said previously that they’re prepared to hold events without spectators if necessary. Read here

Delta variant is now dominant in the US, CDC says

The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus is now the dominant variant in the United States, accounting for 51.7 percent of infections, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As health officials had predicted, the Delta variant has rapidly overtaken Alpha, the variant that spread through the United States this spring. Alpha, first detected in Britain, now makes up just 28.7 percent of infections, according to the CDC. Still, overall, the average numbers of new virus cases and deaths across the country, as well as hospitalizations, are significantly down from the devastating peaks during previous national surges. Read here

Covid surge pushes Indonesia’s health system to the brink

Hospitals across the Indonesian island of Java are running out of oxygen, medicines, beds and even staff as a sharp rise in Covid cases pushes the country’s health system to the brink. Indonesia, which is facing one of the worst outbreaks in Asia, announced 34,379 new cases and 1,040 fatalities on Wednesday, both record highs. Senior minister said earlier this week he feared daily cases could reach as high as 70,000. The government said it was sourcing supplies of oxygen from Singapore to ease shortages. Read here