The latest on the Covid-19 pandemic as Olympics approach

National public health care workers in the UK will receive a 3% pay rise to recognize “their pandemic contribution,” according to the Department of Health, more than the 1% increase promised in March that stirred public consternation. 

The pay rise will backdate to April 2021 for staff including nurses, paramedics, consultants, dentists, and salaried general practitioners. However on Tuesday, a petition with more than 800,000 signatories was delivered to Downing Street that called for a 15% pay increase for all NHS staff. 

Initially offered a 1% pay rise in March this year, NHS staff, unions, and the general public argued the proposal was an unfair reflection of health workers’ contribution during the pandemic. 

According to a statement from the Department of Health and Social Care on Wednesday, the government has accepted the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) and the Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Renumeration (DDRB) and is “committed to providing NHS staff with a pay uplift in recognition of the unique impact of the pandemic on the NHS.” 

For the average nurse, this will mean an additional £1,000 ($1,371) a year, while many porters and cleaners will receive around £540 more, the government said. 

Russian swimmer Ilya Borodin will not take part in the upcoming Summer Olympics as planned due to testing positive for Covid-19, according to the Russian Swimming Federation.  

Russian officials stated Wednesday that Borodin tested positive before leaving for Japan.  

According to the official Tokyo 2020 Olympics site, the 18-year-old was originally outlooked to swim in the men's 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley events. 

Borodin won the men’s 400-meter individual medley at the European Aquatics Championships in May.

The federation statement reads: 

CNN's Gena Somra contributed to this report.

Only 15% of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, as “more and more disease trends are showing a region divided by vaccine access,” the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) Director Carissa Etienne said on Wednesday.

According to Etienne, in countries with adequate vaccine supply – such as Costa Rica, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina – infections are decreasing. Whereas in places where vaccine coverage is still low, infections remain high.

“Honduras is seeing an increase in Covid cases in states along its border. In the Caribbean, Covid cases and deaths are spiking in Cuba, where many provinces are reporting dramatic increases in new infections. The situation is especially acute in the province of Matanzas,” Etienne added.

While vaccine donations are on their way, “vaccine coverage remains dangerously low in many more countries across our region,” Etienne said, adding that “Covid-19 cases are accelerating in most Central American countries, with Guatemala reporting high infections and hospitalizations.”

“These trends illustrate how Covid-19 remains entrenched within our region, particularly in countries with low vaccination coverage. And the spread of variants only makes matters worse. So far, 47 countries and territories in our region have detected at least one ‘variant of concern’ and 11 have detected all four of today’s most concerning variants: alpha, beta, gamma, and delta,” according to Etienne.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city’s requirement for health care workers to get vaccinated or undergo Covid-19 testing weekly will begin on Aug. 2 and that those who refuse both options will be suspended without pay.

The requirement will apply to all staff in the city’s public "Health + Hospitals" (H+H) health care system and all clinical workers with the city’s health department, including doctors, nurses, administrative staff, and custodians. H+H is the largest public municipal health system in the United States with 11 hospitals across New York City.

New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said they are planning to extend this safety requirement to additional health department staff in the weeks ahead.

Health + Hospitals CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz said that around 60% of H+H staff are currently vaccinated and he believes the new requirement will increase their vaccination rates. While Katz declined to speak for various health care worker unions, Katz said he believes there is appreciation that the requirement gives workers a choice between testing and vaccination, and that easy access to Covid-19 testing will be offered at H+H facilities. 

Some context: To date, New York City has administered 9,773,399 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Around 4.9 million New Yorkers (about 58% of the city’s total population) have received at least one dose, city statistics show.

City data shows that new Covid-19 cases in New York have been steadily increasing over the past two weeks. On Wednesday, the city reported 597 new Covid-19 cases.

An infectious diseases expert in Alabama issued a stark warning about the Covid-19 situation in her state:

“We have to get on the same page scientifically. And in terms of recognizing that, if we don't get young people vaccinated, we're all going to be at risk for a really awful fall ahead. We don't want to repeat what we did last year,” she said to CNN’s Kate Bolduan. 

Marrazzo said the situation in the state is changing rapidly. Alabama is one of five undervaccinated clusters in the US.

“Remember, even if you don't get really sick with this virus, many people suffer long-term consequences. I've talked to a number of athletes who continue to have dysfunction in their performance characteristics. They don't have the energy. They also can have trouble with smell and taste,” she said. “… You really don't want that when you're 35. You don't want it at at any time, but you especially don’t want it if you’re a young person trying to perform at peak capacity and enjoy your life.”

Marrazzo said she would like to see full approval of the vaccines from the US Food and Drug Administration, as she thinks that would help allay fears among the vaccine-hesitant. 

World Health Organization (WHO) Head Tedros Ghebreyesus cautioned that although the Olympics are usually a symbol of hope, we are "now in the early stages of another wave of infections and deaths."

Speaking at an International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Tokyo Wednesday, Tedros called the pandemic a test that the "world is failing" and that "by the time the Olympic flame is extinguished on the 8th of August more than 100,000 more people will perish."

He spoke of vaccine inequality, saying it is "good news" that 3.5 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, but adding that most have gone to the privileged.

He added that the discrepancy is a "moral outrage" and cautioned that if it continues, the pandemic will "drag on and so will the social and economic turmoil it brings."

The cumulative global number of Covid-19 cases could exceed 200 million in the next three weeks if cases continue at the same rate, according the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update, published Wednesday. 

From July 12 to 18, over 3.4 million new cases were reported globally, the update says – that's a 12% increase compared to the week before. Global Covid-19 weekly case incidence increased with an average of around 490,000 cases reported each day over the past week compared with 400,000 daily cases reported the week before. 

Cumulatively, the global number of cases reported is over 190 million, the report says, and “at this rate, it is expected that the cumulative number of cases reported globally could exceed 200 million in the next three weeks.”

Other than the regions of the Americas and Africa, all WHO regions reported an increase in case incidence over the last week, with the Western Pacific Region recording the largest increase, followed by the European Region. 

On variants: Cases of the Alpha variant have been reported in 180 countries, the Beta variant in 130 countries, the Gamma variant in 78 countries and the Delta variant in 124 countries. In the past week, six new countries reported the Alpha variant, seven new countries reported the Beta variant, three new countries the Gamma variant and 13 new countries reported the Delta variant. 

The update says that increases in transmission appear to be driven by these four factors:

Ensemble forecasts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Wednesday project that new Covid-19 deaths and hospitalizations will likely increase over the next four weeks, while the number of new cases will likely remain stable or have an uncertain trend.

The forecast predicts between 615,000 to 625,000 Covid-19 deaths reported in the US by Aug. 14, 2021.  

The previous ensemble forecast, published July 14, projected up to 619,000 deaths reported by Aug. 7. 

For the second projection in a row, the CDC’s weekly ensemble forecast projects an increase in hospitalizations. Previously, US Department of Health and Human Services data showed them on a steady decline since late April. 

The ensemble forecast predicts there will be 3,800 to 14,000 new confirmed Covid-19 hospital admissions likely reported on Aug. 16, 2021. 

US men's beach volleyball player Taylor Crabb has tested positive for Covid-19 and will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics, according to NBC News. Crabb is now the fourth US athlete to test positive for Covid-19.

Crabb, 29, joins Coco Gauff, Katie Lou Samuelson and Kara Eaker as US athletes who will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for the virus.

Crabb is expected to be replaced by Tri Bourne, according to California newspaper, The Orange County Register. Bourne will join four-time Olympian Jake Gibb for Team USA’s opening match against Italy at Shiokaze Park on Sunday.