May 6 coronavirus news

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Pfizer/BioNTech will donate Covid-19 vaccine doses to Olympic athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games scheduled for July.

The IOC said the national committees will work with local governments to coordinate distribution of the vaccines "in accordance with each country’s vaccination guidelines and consistent with local regulations."

The committee added it encourages athletes to get vaccinated in their home countries before traveling to Japan. "This is not only to contribute to the safe environment of the Games, but also out of respect for the residents of Japan," the IOC said, adding that based on feedback from national committees it expects "a significant proportion" of athletes will be vaccinated before arriving.

"It is important to note that any additional doses delivered by Pfizer and BioNTech will not be taken out of existing programmes, but will be in addition to existing quotas and planned deliveries around the world," the IOC added.

“By taking the vaccine, they can send a powerful message that vaccination is not only about personal health, but also about solidarity and consideration of the wellbeing of others in their communities,” Bach added.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday listed the B.1.617 coronavirus variant first detected in India as a "variant of interest," suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more transmissible, cause more severe disease or reduce vaccine efficacy.  

B.1.617, which is now the most common variant in India, has also been found in the United Kingdom and the United States, and was recently detected in Israel.

The Director of India’s National Center for Disease Control, Sujeet Singh, said Wednesday that the surge in Covid-19 cases in India in the last 1.5 months in some states shows a correlation with the rise in the B.1.617 variant, though further analysis is needed. 

"We have not been able to establish the epidemiological and clinical correlation completely yet," Singh said in a health ministry press briefing. "This correlation is the main aspect and without it we cannot link a particular surge to the variant." 

The CDC classifies coronavirus variants by three levels: variant of interest, variant of concern, or variant of high consequence.

Current variants of concern include B.1.1.7, the variant first identified in the United Kingdom, P.1, the variant first identified in Brazil, B.1351, the variant first identified in South Africa and B.1.427 and B.1.429, variants first identified in California. 

The southern Indian state Kerala will go into lockdown from May 8 until May 16, Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan Pinarayi announced Thursday. 

Kerala reported 41,953 new cases and 58 deaths on May 5. 

The state's active caseload is more than 375,000 cases -- the third highest across all states. 

The second wave of Covid-19 in India has touched every state and union territory in the country. Here is a look at the number of total cases and deaths recorded in each jurisdiction, according to figures provided by the Indian government on Thursday.

Andaman and Nicobar: 6,223 cases and 71 deaths

Andhra Pradesh: 1,206,232 cases and 8,374 deaths

Arunachal Pradesh: 19,412 cases and 59 deaths

Assam: 272,751 cases and 1,485 deaths

Bihar: 538,677 cases and 2,987 deaths

Chandigarh: 46,793 cases and 532 deaths

Chhattisgarh: 802,643 cases and 9,738 deaths

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu: 8,325 cases and four deaths

Delhi: 1,253,902 cases and 18,063 deaths

Goa: 104,398 cases and 1,443 deaths

Gujarat: 633,427 cases and 7,912 deaths

Haryana: 558,975 cases and 4,960 deaths

Himachal Pradesh: 114,787 cases and 1,692 deaths

Jammu and Kashmir: 196,585 cases and 2,510 deaths

Jharkhand: 263,115 cases and 3,346 deaths

Karnataka: 1,741,046 cases and 16,884 deaths

Kerala: 1,743,932 cases and 5,565 deaths

Ladakh: 14,811 cases and 151 deaths

Lakshadweep: 3,376 cases and seven deaths

Maharashtra: 4,880,542 cases and 72,662 deaths

Manipur: 33,353 cases and 434 deaths

Meghalaya: 18,283 cases and 191 deaths

Mizoram: 6,964 cases and 17 deaths

Madhya Pradesh: 624,985 cases and 6,074 deaths

Nagaland: 15,004 cases and 118 deaths

Odisha: 489,641 cases and 2,104 deaths

Puducherry: 65,117 cases and 883 deaths

Punjab: 407,509 cases and 9,825 deaths

Rajasthan: 685,036 cases and 5,021 deaths

Sikkim: 8,919 cases and 155 deaths

Tamil Nadu: 1,272,602 cases and 14,779 deaths

Telengana: 475,748 cases and 2,579 deaths

Tripura: 36,534 cases and 403 deaths

Uttar Pradesh: 1,399,294 cases and 14,151 deaths

Uttarakhand: 211,834 cases and 3,142 deaths

West Bengal: 916,635 cases and 11,847 deaths

Covid-19 is devastating India at a record pace and pushing the country's healthcare infrastructure beyond its limits.

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New Zealand has suspended quarantine-free travel arrangements for flights from the Australian state of New South Wales due to a local outbreak of Covid-19 in its state capital, Sydney.

Quarantine-free flights will be suspended for 48 hours from midnight Thursday New Zealand local time, according to New Zealand’s Covid-19 response minister, Chris Hipkins.

Flights from New Zealand to New South Wales have not yet been affected. 

Thursday’s decision is the first alteration to the Australia-New Zealand travel bubble, which was instituted on April 19. 

Two locally acquired cases of Covid-19 were detected in Sydney on Wednesday, a married couple in their 50s.

Some restrictions were reinstated in Sydney on Thursday, including mandatory mask wearing in indoor public places and a limit of 20 people at private gatherings.

At least 19 people are being evacuated from a Nepali climbing camp after reports of Covid-19 cases were confirmed there.

Mingma Sherpa, chairman of the Seven Summits Treks, said four climbers tested positive for coronavirus at the base camp of Dhaulagiri, the seventh-highest peak in the world.

Sherpa said 12 other climbers seemed to be in good condition but were being evacuated so they could get tested after developing coughs.

The expedition, which started with 32 foreign climbers and a roughly 40-member support team, is expected to continue on.

Nepal Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Shantosh Ballave Poudyal Shantosh Ballave Poudya said three people working at Dhaulagiri base camp cleaning up waste have tested positive. One was evacuated Wednesday, and two will be evacuating soon once the weather gets clear.

Some 18 million people, or 7% of Indonesia’s population, are still planning on traveling for the Eid al-Fitr holiday despite travel bans, according to a poll from the country's state-run news agency, Antara.

Indonesia instituted a travel ban between May 6 and 17 to help stop the spread of Covid-19. The order by the central government limits the distance people can travel during the holiday period and keeps them largely contained to their current city or town.

Roughly 155,000 personnel, including 90,000 police and 11,500 military officers, are being deployed to posts around the country to enforce the travel ban and restrictions around the holidays, Antara reported Wednesday. In Jakarta, more than 4,000 personnel will be stationed around the metropolitan region to enforce rules.

Hospitals in the Japanese prefecture of Osaka no longer have empty beds available for severe Covid-19 patients, according to government data.

Osaka's bed occupancy rate for severe coronavirus patients hit 103% on Wednesday, per data posted on the Osaka government's website. The bed occupancy rate for mild and moderate cases is 82.4%.

To cope with the rising number of cases, the government opened two waiting centers in April with ventilators for patients who called for ambulances but could not be admitted due to a lack of beds.

Authorities also asked neighboring prefectures to accept patients with severe symptoms to ease Osaka's burden, but so far, only Shiga prefecture has participated. They've only accepted one patient.

Since the latest wave of infections began on March 4, 17 Covid-19 patients have died at home or in hotels, according to the government.

Osaka authorities said 13,992 Covid patients remain at home while 2,958 are waiting to be hospitalized or put in hotel rooms. 

Hotel spaces are offered to those who cannot be hospitalized or those who need to be away from home and their families while infectious. Local health centers provide patients at home and hotels with oxygen meters and have them monitor and report to the health center.

The Osaka government also asked for nurses from around the country to come help with the rising number of cases. So far, more than 40 nurses have answered. The government website continues to have a “nurses wanted” recruitment notice for those who can “work in the red zone of hospitals and capable of dealing with respirators."

The government said they will be paid a higher wage than normal.