The latest on the Covid-19 pandemic as Olympics approach

Athletes from the Refugee Olympic Team began arriving in Tokyo about a week after an official with the team tested positive for Covid-19 in Qatar, the UN Refugee Agency tweeted early Tuesday (local time).

Last week, an official traveling with the Refugee Olympic Team tested positive for Covid-19 at a welcome event attended by most of the team in Doha, according to the International Olympic Committee, which said the athletes then delayed their trip to Tokyo and instead trained in Doha while being tested for the virus daily before the Summer Olympics.

Two athletes who did not take part in the Doha event traveled to Tokyo earlier than their teammates, according to the IOC.

CNN has sought more information from the UNHCR on the number of athletes who arrived in the latest group and is awaiting a response.

It might be possible for even unvaccinated people to gather safely in large groups – if venues take the right precautions, according to a new case study out of Barcelona. 

When 5,000 people gathered for a concert in Barcelona last March, only six people ended up becoming infected with coronavirus – and probably three of those were infected away from the concert, researchers from Germans Trias I Pujol Hospital said.

Everyone attending the concert took a rapid Covid test and everyone was required to wear a high-quality mask known as a filtering facepiece 2 mask. Ventilation at the venue was upgraded to provide six complete exchanges of air every hour, the researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine Monday. 

Out of 4,584 attendees included in the final analysis, six tested positive in the 14 days after the event. Of these six, three were identified through contact tracing unconnected to the event and so, researchers wrote, “their contagion was unlikely to occur during the event.” One of the six positive cases tested positive early enough that the study authors suspect she was likely already infected but not showing symptoms yet at the concert.

No other prevention methods were implemented beyond screening, masking, and ventilation. Attendees were free to sing and dance, and were not asked to distance themselves.

Not many people in Spain had been vaccinated at the time of the concert – just about 6.3% of the population, the researchers said.

The researchers extrapolated the case positivity rate and said it worked out to 120 infections per 100,000 persons, compared to a community-wide rate of 259.5 cases per 100,000 persons.

People get vaccinated at a vaccination clinic at Save Max Sports Center in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, on July 10.

There was no national celebration or symbolic victory lap this weekend as Canada notched a significant milestone, fully vaccinating about 50% of its population and surpassing the US vaccination rate for Covid-19.

According to Health Canada, nearly 70% of Canadians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, putting the country very close to the 75% threshold public health authorities here say is needed to approach herd immunity.

Still, caution is the word on the lips of nearly every public health official and politician. 

“We’re going to continue to move forward in a thoughtful and responsible way but the fact is people need to continue to get vaccinated with their second doses and those who’ve been hesitant need to get their first doses,“ said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during an infrastructure announcement outside of Toronto.

Canada’s punishing third wave of Covid-19 burdened hospitals this spring and exhausted frontline healthcare workers and it is still a vivid memory for many, even though the country is now logging only a few hundred cases of Covid-19 per day.

And vaccine scarcity, until recently, left millions of Canadians feeling anxious and exposed.

“Like people said in March, it was like the Hunger Games (for vaccines), hospital systems were crashing, and the supply wasn’t there,” said Andrew Young of Vaccine Hunters Canada in an interview with CNN adding, “right now, I can tell you I’m a lot more relaxed.”

Young founded a grassroots organization in March helping to find vaccines for Canadians as the scramble to get vaccinated was well underway. Millions of Canadians were still in lockdown in early spring as they watched their American neighbors get vaccinated and begin a more normal life.

Vaccine Hunters Canada says it uses the IT and social media skills of about 100 volunteers to connect Canadians with vaccines.

“I think our real niche was hope, if I could put it that way. There wasn’t much hope in terms of the constant lockdowns, increase in cases, closed down schools. So, to me, Vaccine Hunters represented hope and the niche that it filled is that it connected all the provinces with its rollout strategies so we had a consolidated platform for Canadians nationwide,” said Young. 

While the federal government procured and paid for vaccine doses, administering the vaccines was done by individual provinces and territories.

For Young, one night a few weeks ago stands out when a vaccine clinic in a Toronto suburb messaged the organization at 1 a.m. saying there were a few dozen vaccine doses leftover. Vaccine Hunters Canada put the word out on social media and every dose was administered late into the night.

“I still see us as pretty important in terms of helping get the word out, helping amplify the voices of certain groups who needs a little boost,” said Young, adding that the “last percentage” will need more creative strategies as Canada confronts its own vaccine hesitancy.

While Canada says it has procured more doses per capita than most countries around the world, the bulk of doses were not delivered until later in spring. Canada still has no significant vaccine manufacturing capacity although the Trudeau government has promised to fund more domestic vaccine production by 2022.

Vaccine uptake was not politicized in Canada and the vast majority of political leaders did all they could to get shots in arms. Still, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, has been warning for weeks that vaccine hesitancy could keep Canada from achieving the herd immunity it needs to fight the virus.

In a recent statement she encouraged Canadians to share “credible” Covid-19 information and warned earlier this month that not enough younger Canadians were “offering their arms” for vaccinations.

Still, Canada is now confident enough to open it borders to visitors for the first time in 16 months.

Beginning Aug. 9, fully vaccinated citizens and permanent residents of the United States and only those currently residing in the US will be permitted to enter Canada. Nonessential travel into Canada has been banned since March 2020, something the Canadian government said was necessary to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.

International travelers may also be allowed to enter Canada beginning Sept. 7, provided that the “COVID-19 epidemiology remains favorable,” the Canadian government said in statement released Monday.

Entry to Canada will continue to be prohibited for all foreign travelers who are not fully vaccinated.

An updated CNN analysis has found that at least nine states — Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Vermont — have enacted legislation that prohibit districts from requiring masks in schools.

The list of schools banning school mask mandates has been constantly changing, but so far they are all states with Republican governors. These state laws prohibiting mask mandates in schools conflict with guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday released new Covid-19 guidance for schools that supports in-person learning and recommends universal masking in school of everyone over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status — a stricter position than that taken earlier this month by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC updated its Covid-19 school guidance, which also emphasized in-person schooling is a priority in the fall, but advised that fully vaccinated students, teachers and staff do not need to wear masks in school.

There are some states — including Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, and Washington — that follow the AAP guidance to require masks among K-12 students regardless of their vaccination status. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom

The rise in new Covid-19 cases in California driven primarily by the highly contagious Delta variant continues to swell, now reaching levels not seen since February when new cases were dropping after a huge winter spike.

More than 14,000 new coronavirus cases were reported Monday, driving the number of confirmed cases to 3,762,462. California’s Department of Public Health no longer reports new data on weekends, so this new data reflects cases reported on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The state’s positivity rate has skyrocketed almost 500% since the beginning of June, just prior to the statewide economic reopening, climbing to 4.1% on Monday. The positivity rate is the highest the state has seen since Feb. 17, state data shows, a substantial increase since its lowest point of 0.7% on June 7.

“This is a pandemic overwhelmingly and disproportionately of those that have not been vaccinated,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday, touting the state’s efforts to refocus vaccinations on small mobile clinics and additional outreach to unvaccinated subsets.

Among those are unhoused people, those living in rural communities, and those who he says have been deceived by misinformation.

“People living in urban environments that have, frankly, been misled by misinformation campaigns that are literally killing people, by networks that profit off the misinformation that literally are aiding and abetting in the deaths of thousands of Americans because of the misinformation,” Newsom said. “We’ve got to counter the misinformation.”

About half of the state’s population is once again under mask mandates and recommendations, with four more central and northern California counties — Napa, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey — issuing mask recommendations Monday. 

Asked about the new mask recommendations, Newsom said it is “inevitable” more county health officials may do so if cases continue to rise.

Investors are getting spooked by the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases as the Delta variant spreads across the globe. 

The Dow fell about 725 points Monday, a drop of 2.1%. The S&P 500 ended the day down 1.6% and the Nasdaq was 1.1% lower. 

This was the worst day for the Dow since a 943-point drop in late October, and it was the biggest decline this year. But the blue chip market barometer has had several even bigger point plunges since the start of 2020 due to concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Dow plummeted more than 1,000 points six times last year, with five of those market meltdowns taking place in March at the start of the pandemic in America. The Dow suffered its biggest point slide ever on March 16, 2020, dropping nearly 3,000 points — a 13% freefall.

Investors feared that the Delta coronavirus variant could threaten the US economic recovery. Shares of companies in sectors that were widely thought to benefit most from the reopening of the economy are getting hit the hardest. 

Airlines American, United and Delta were all down around 4% to 5%. Cruise operators Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian each fell between 4% and 6%. 

Energy stocks plummeted as well following a more than 3% drop in oil prices. Chevron and Exxon Mobil were down 8%.The OPEC+ group of nations also agreed over the weekend on a deal to produce more oil, a move that could boost supply and reduce crude prices. 

Long-term bond rates continued to slide as well, a sign that fixed income investors are now far more worried about a Delta variant-induced economic slowdown than they are about rising inflation fears.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury sank below 1.2% for the first time since February.

Many under-vaccinated groups represent a larger share of new vaccinations over the past two weeks in the US, according to data published Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For example, adults between the age of 18-24 comprise about 9% of the US population but 14% of new vaccinations over the past two weeks. 

The same is true for Hispanic people who represent about 17% of the US population but 30% of new vaccinations over the past week, as well as Black people who represent about 12% of the US population but nearly 14% of vaccinations over the past week. 

Here’s a look at other key vaccination data published by the CDC today:

United States' Zach LaVine plays against Australia during an exhibition basketball game Monday, July 12, in Las Vegas.

Zach LaVine, a member of the US Olympic men’s basketball squad, will not travel with the team to Japan on Monday as planned due to health and safety protocols, USA Basketball announced Monday.

No other details were released.

LaVine, who plays professionally for the Chicago Bulls, scored 13 points versus Spain on Sunday in an exhibition game in Las Vegas, Nevada.

USA Basketball says it is hopeful LaVine will be able to join the team in Tokyo “later this week.”

The US men’s basketball team faces France on July 25.

USA Basketball tweet in full reads: “Zach LaVine has been placed under USA Basketball’s health & safety protocols & will not travel with the team to Tokyo today. We hope that Zach will be able to join the team in Tokyo later this week.”

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks while meeting with Texas legislators in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, July 13.

Vice President Kamala Harris tested negative for Covid-19 following a meeting with Texas state House Democrats, several of whom later tested positive, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday at a briefing.

An official in the vice president’s office said that Harris’ testing occurred before her “routine doctor’s appointment” at Walter Reed Hospital, not because of the meeting with Texas legislators. 

Asked whether there was a safety concern of Harris’ spending time around President Joe Biden, Psaki said Harris was tested and “there was no detection of Covid-19.”  

“We take these precautions incredibly seriously and abide by the health, the guidance of our health and medical experts,” she said.

Psaki wouldn’t assess what safety precautions the Texas Democrats may or may not have taken.

“We, of course, hope everybody abides by public health guidelines. That’s what we certainly recommend, but the Vice President — what’s important for everybody to know — is the Vice President was tested. She, of course, takes these precautions seriously and we would follow any advice or public health officials give us.” 

Psaki added that there have not been additional precautions taken, when asked if the White House separated Harris and President Biden. On the White House’s schedule today, it listed Biden and Harris would receive the President’s Daily Briefing in the Oval Office.

On Saturday, the Vice President’s office said Harris was “not at risk of exposure,” after meeting with Texas state House Democrats Tuesday, two of whom later tested positive for Covid-19. 

According to CDC guidelines, fully vaccinated people can “refrain from quarantine following a known exposure if asymptomatic.” Harris is fully vaccinated.

And on Sunday morning, a White House official said Harris would visit Walter Reed Hospital for a “routine doctor’s appointment,” telling CNN it was not a physical exam.

Asked about that appointment, Psaki said it was “scheduled for several weeks, long before the visit of the Texas legislators.”

Katie Lou Samuelson, a member of the US Olympic 3x3 women’s basketball team, will not be able to compete in the Tokyo Games after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

Samuelson says she is “heartbroken” as she was fully vaccinated.

Samuelson, who plays professionally with the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, has had her roster spot filled by Jackie Young.

USA Basketball tweeted, “Our hearts are broken for Lou. We thank her for her endless commitment to building up USA Basketball 3x3 & we will miss her dearly in Tokyo.”

The White House declined Monday to commit to reopening its northern border to Canadians after Canada’s government said vaccinated US citizens would be able to enter on Aug. 9.

“We are continuing to review our travel restrictions and any decisions about reopening travel will by guided by our public health and medical experts,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. “We take this incredibly seriously but we look and are guided by our own medical experts. I wouldn’t look at it through a reciprocal intention.”

The White House has been under pressure from foreign allies to resume international travel after keeping bans in place from the previous administration.

It was a topic of discussion last week between President Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who questioned why the restrictions remain in place.

The US has set up working groups with allies in the UK and the EU on reopening travel, but the results of those discussions haven’t been clear.

The UK will only offer Covid-19 vaccines to children if they have underlying health conditions, British Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said following the latest recommendations from the government’s vaccine advisers.

Children between the ages of 12 and 15 will be offered the vaccine if they have a neurological disorder, Down syndrome, a weakened immune system or profound or multiple learning disabilities.   

Seventeen-year-olds within three months of their 18th birthday will also be eligible for a vaccine to ensure they are protected when they turn 18, Zahawi said. Likewise, children between ages 12 to15 living with immunosuppressed individuals will also be eligible.

Britain’s independent medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for people ages 12 and older as it “meets their robust standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.”

In a statement, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he has accepted the expert recommendations and has instructed the country’s public health service (NHS) to make preparations for the expanded rollout “as soon as possible.” 

Although far rarer than in adults, children can be severely impacted, hospitalized and die from the coronavirus. 

First lady Jill Biden is still planning on traveling to Tokyo for the Olympics this week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday, following reports of athletes testing positive for Covid-19 just days before the start of the games.  

“Nothing has changed in terms of our plans for the US delegation. Our team will be following very strict safety and health protocols, limiting engagement with the public and keeping our footprint as small as possible,” Psaki told reporters at a White House briefing. 

“Our Covid team at the White House, as well as health officials at the IOC and the government of Japan, all agree that the stringent protocols and health measures in place will keep them safe,” Psaki added.

Some background: US female gymnast Kara Eaker, an alternate on the Olympic Gymnastics team, tested positive for Covid-19 Monday morning – just days before the Tokyo Olympic Games start on Friday. American tennis hopeful Cori “Coco” Gauff and South African footballers in the Olympic Village have also tested positive.

The long wait will soon be over for foreigners who have been banned from entering Canada for nearly 16 months. 

Beginning August 9, fully vaccinated citizens and permanent residents of the United States currently residing in the US will be permitted to enter Canada. Non-essential travel into Canada has been banned since March 2020, something the Canadian government said was necessary to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.

International travelers may also be allowed to enter Canada beginning September 7, provided that the “COVID-19 epidemiology remains favorable,” the Canadian government said in statement released Monday. 

Entry to Canada will continue to be prohibited for all foreign travelers who are not fully vaccinated.  

Further, the statement says all fully vaccinated American citizens and permanent residents must have received the full series of a vaccine — or combination of vaccines — accepted by the Government of Canada at least 14 days prior to entering Canada. Currently, those vaccines are manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson). 

Other vaccines, including those from China or Russia will not be recognized by Canada and officials say they are continuing to “look into it” and will announce policy changes accordingly. 

Travelers must provide evidence proving they have been vaccinated.

In a significant concession, unvaccinated minors under the age of 12 entering Canada with vaccinated parents or guardians will not have quarantine for 14 days. 

In another change to policy, fully vaccinated travelers will not need a post-arrival test unless they have been randomly selected at the port of entry to complete a Covid-19 molecular test. All travelers coming into Canada, regardless of vaccine status, will need a negative PCR or molecular test within 72 hours of requesting entry.

Australian Olympic swimmer Emily Seebohm has been documenting the daily life of athletes in the Tokyo’s Olympic Village in vlogs posted to her Instagram account.

In her latest post, she shows the daily Covid-19 tests the athletes in the Olympic Village have to take daily.

The five-time Olympic medalist also gave viewers a glimpse of the meals teams are eating and a look inside where all the snacks are kept in the Australian team room.

Teams from more than 200 countries are due to arrive in the city in the coming days. As of Friday, more than 15,000 Olympic individuals had entered Japan, according to Thomas Bach, president of the IOC.

The Olympic Village, containing 21 residential buildings, will house about 11,000 athletes. The number of Covid-19 cases linked to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan has risen to at least 61, according to Tokyo 2020 organizers.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is stressing the importance of getting the Covid-19 vaccine as cases in the state continue to rise. 

During a news conference on Monday, DeSantis said the case spike in July was expected as the virus is following a seasonal pattern. 

The governor said the ultimate goal is to keep people out of the hospital.

“We have three vaccines available to anyone, any adult can get it at pharmacies, health departments, you name it,” he said. 

DeSantis said although he doesn’t support vaccine mandates, it is very important to have the right messaging for people who may be skeptical of receiving the vaccine. 

The White House is “not in a war or battle with Facebook” but in a “battle with the virus,” press secretary Jen Psaki said, adding that the administration is still not taking “any options off the table” in their response to Covid-19 vaccine misinformation.  

Earlier Monday, Biden put pressure on Facebook over the online dissemination of Covid-19 vaccine information but backed off his recent accusation that the company was directly responsible for “killing people.”

Asked whether Biden’s comments mean there will be no regulatory actions on the matter, Psaki said: “I don’t think we’ve taken any options off the table. That’s up to Congress to determine how they want to proceed moving forward.” 

“That bad information, inaccurate information about vaccines is killing people. That’s where our concern is and that’s what the president is working to express.”

Earlier Monday, Biden told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that “Facebook isn’t killing people.”

“Facebook isn’t killing people — these 12 people are out there giving misinformation. Anyone listening to it is getting hurt by it. It’s killing people. It’s bad information,” Biden said, appearing to cite data from the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). A report published by the organization in March indicated that about a dozen people were super-spreaders of anti-vaccine misinformation.

The United States is sending more than one million Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines to Gambia, Senegal, Zambia and Niger, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Monday. 

The US is also sending three million vaccines to Guatemala on Tuesday, Psaki told reporters at a White House briefing, noting the Biden administration’s prioritization of Latin American countries. The US sent 1.5 million Moderna doses to Guatemala earlier this month. 

“The United States continues its tremendous effort to donate Covid-19 vaccines from the US global supply,” Psaki said. 

The move is part of the President’s effort to reassert US leadership on the world stage and have America be an “arsenal of vaccines” in the fight against Covid-19. 

Biden has allocated 80 million vaccines to countries around the world and has also pledged to donate an additional 500 million Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses globally. 

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has raised the Risk Assessment Level for Covid-19 to “Level 4: Covid-19 Very High.”

CDC suggests that people avoid travel to destinations that are classified as Level 4, and that if people must travel there, they make sure they are fully vaccinated before they go.

The US Department of State still classifies travel to the United Kingdom at Level 3, saying that travel there should be reconsidered due to Covid-19.

This comes as almost all Covid-19 restrictions are lifted in England, including mandatory mask wearing.

People wait in line to get into a nightclub in London, England, on July 19.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said proof of double vaccination against Covid-19 will be required in England for entrance into nightclubs and venues with large crowds by the end of September. 

Speaking on Monday, so-called “Freedom Day” — when all remaining restrictions in the country were dropped — Johnson said the rules will come into effect after all people over the age of 18 will have had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, with both doses.

“As we said last week, we do reserve the right to mandate certification, at any point, if it’s necessary to reduce transmission … By the end of September, when all over 18 year olds will have had their chance to be double jabbed, we’re planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather. Proof of a negative test will no longer be enough,” Johnson said during a news conference he lead from his country residence where he is isolating.    

“I would remind everybody that some of life’s most important pleasures and opportunities are likely to be increasingly dependent on vaccination. There are already countries that require already, to be double jabbed as a condition of quarantine-free travel, and I’m afraid that list seems likely to grow,” he continued.