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 Organisers cap Tokyo 2020 spectators at 10,000 per venue
Olympics of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Monday capped the number of
spectators at 10,000 for each venue, days after experts said that
holding the event without fans was the least risky option.
Authorities have pushed on with holding the multi-billion-dollar
sports extravaganza despite public opposition and deep concern about
a resurgence in infections.
Japan has largely avoided the kind of explosive outbreaks that have
devastated other countries, but its vaccine roll-out has been slow
and the medical system pushed to the brink in some places.
India begins inoculating all adults with free shots
India on Monday began a nationwide campaign of free COVID-19 shots
for all adults after weeks of criticism that a chaotic rollout had
caused acute shortages and intensified a deadly second wave that
killed hundreds of thousands in April and May.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reversed a policy
under which states made their own purchases from drug makers and
along with private hospitals were administering doses to people aged
18-45.
And as most states shut down vaccination centres for the younger
population citing shortages, many turned to private hospitals that
charged between $9-$24 a dose and supply gaps widened between urban
and rural areas.
Indonesia to tighten restrictions for 2 weeks
Indonesia will tighten social restrictions for two weeks starting
Tuesday, a government minister said, in a bid to contain a surge in
cases in the world's fourth most populous country.
The curbs will apply to 'red zones' where cases have been rising
sharply this month, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga
Hartarto told a streamed news conference on Monday.
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 The tightened regulations will
mean that offices, restaurants, cafes and malls
in such areas will only be permitted to operate
at 25% capacity. Dongguan latest
city in China's Guangdong to be hit
The major manufacturing hub of Dongguan in China's most populous
province of Guangdong launched mass testing for the coronavirus on
Monday and cordoned off communities after detecting its first
infections in the current outbreak.
The Delta variant of COVID-19 has dominated infections in the
provincial upsurge, the first time it has hit China. Seen by experts
as highly transmissible, the variant was first identified in India.
Guangdong has reported 168 confirmed infections since May 21, with
nearly 90% of them in its capital, Guangzhou.
Taiwan welcomes U.S. vaccine aid
Taiwan welcomed 2.5 million vaccine doses from the United States on
Sunday as help from a true friend, more than doubling the island's
arsenal of shots as it deals with a cluster of domestic infections.
Washington, competing with Beijing to deepen geopolitical clout
through "vaccine diplomacy," initially had promised to donate
750,000 doses but increased that number as President Joe Biden's
administration advances its pledge to send 80 million U.S.-made
shots around the world.
A China Airlines Boeing 777 freighter carrying the vaccines landed
at Taoyuan airport outside of Taipei late afternoon, greeted on the
tarmac by Health Minister Chen Shih-chung and the top U.S. diplomat
in Taiwan, Brent Christensen.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes)
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