May 14 coronavirus news

A doctor’s union in Japan has urged the government to cancel the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

Members of the union went to Japan’s Health Ministry on Thursday to present a written request addressed to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

In the written request, Ueyama cautioned that the Games could become a superspreader event as tens of thousands of athletes, coaches, officials and journalists come to Japan from around the world. Ueyama said that even if there are no spectators, the event could lead to the circulation of variants that are resistant to vaccines.

Ueyama added that Japan’s vaccination rate is the lowest among OECD countries. He also added that anger and confusion are rampant among Japanese health care workers, who are forced to work extra hours to fight the pandemic. 

The Opening Ceremony for the Games is set for July 23, but questions remain over how Tokyo can hold a massive sporting event and keep volunteers, athletes, officials -- and the Japanese public -- safe from Covid-19.

That concern has been amplified by Japan's battle with a fourth wave. The country’s coronavirus cases stand at 660,884 as of Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University. Several prefectures -- including Tokyo -- are under a state of emergency until the end of May.

India reported 343,144 new Covid-19 cases Friday, bringing the country's total to more than 24 million, according to figures released by the Health Ministry.

The country also reported 4,000 deaths Friday, meaning the total death toll is now at 262,317. Since April 28, the daily number of deaths has exceeded 3,000. 

On April 22, India recorded the highest daily increase of coronavirus cases in the world since the start of the pandemic with 314,835 new cases. Since then, the country has added more than 300,000 cases a day.

India has logged more than 4.8 million cases since the start of the month, when the total number of cases sat at 19,164,969.

Vaccines: To date, 179,177,029 vaccine doses have been administered in India. A total of 40,516,082 people have received both doses, equivalent to 3.1% of India’s 1.3 billion population being fully vaccinated, according to a press release issued by the Health Ministry on Thursday.

Any Covid-19 vaccine approved by the FDA or WHO can come into India and companies can procure an import license within two days, the government stated Thursday.

India has been struggling to set up a steady vaccine supply. The national capital, New Delhi, and two states partially suspended their vaccine programs Thursday. 

The northern Indian state of Punjab announced Thursday that it will independently join the COVAX alliance to ensure their vaccine supply. 

At a press briefing, Paul said that India had been in touch with Pfizer, Moderna and J&J since the beginning of the pandemic about distribution or manufacturing -- but the companies declined to work together.

The Indian government has been scrambling to ensure a supply chain from two Indian vaccine manufacturers and has recently added Russia’s Sputnik vaccine into the chain. 

The Indian government has estimated that it will have 2.1 billion doses in the August-December period, including 750 million doses of Oxford’s AstraZeneca, 156 million of Sputnik and 550 million of Covaxin.

Nepal’s leader K.P. Sharma Oli was reappointed as the country’s Prime Minister Thursday after losing a vote of confidence earlier in the week as a deadly second wave of Covid-19 ravages the country.

What happened?

Nepal's cases have grown dramatically over the past month, with the country now reporting more than 9,000 new Covid-19 cases a day.

Critics said Oli could have done more to stop the second wave, which has stretched hospitals to breaking point. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) -- which was earlier part of the ruling party --- withdrew its support for Oli's government.

Oli then sought a confidence vote in Parliament Monday -- which Oli lost.

That threw the country into political turmoil. Oli was forced to step down, and the opposition parties were given until Thursday to form a coalition government.

But the opposition parties failed to gather support of majority lawmakers to form the next government by the deadline set by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

What's next?

Oli will take an oath of office on Friday, according to Nepal's Office of the President.

The Prime Minister now needs to prove majority in Parliament within 30 days. If he fails to do so, the country will go to midterm elections so leaders can win a fresh mandate.

Why is this important?

Onlookers worry that Nepal could soon face a crisis as bad as neighboring India. Already, oxygen is in short supply and patients are running out of beds.

And in Nepal, which has a fragile health care system at the best of times, things may only get worse.

Despite that, some critics worry that Nepal's leaders are more concerned with politics than the unfolding health crisis.

RELATED

Nepal tries to form a new government as its Covid-19 crisis deepens

Despite new CDC guidelines issued Thursday saying it is safe for fully vaccinated people to be indoors without a mask, the governor of Hawaii says that state’s rules will not change right away.

Masks are required in all indoor public spaces in Hawaii and are also required outdoors in situations where people cannot socially distance.

Ige said he’s concerned that unvaccinated people could take advantage of the new guidance and endanger others.

The governor said the mandate could be changed if a practical way could be found to let people prove their vaccination status, but he hasn’t found one yet.

“For a law enforcement officer or someone to determine whether they have probable cause to stop someone who is wearing a mask or not wearing a mask becomes a real enforcement nightmare,” Ige said.

Ige also said the mandate can be revisited as more of the state's population gets vaccinated, but he would not commit to a specific percentage. “We won't have a hard-and-fast cutoff,” said the governor.