Coronavirus Vaccine Updates: 1st Olympic athlete tests positive for COVID

COVID-19 Live Updates, News and Information

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Sunday, June 20, 2021
First Olympic athlete tests positive for coronavirus
The Olympian was barred entry into Japan while the other eight members of that country's team took a chartered bus to Osaka.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A member of Uganda's Olympic team is the first Olympic athlete to test positive for the coronavirus.

The Olympian was barred entry into Japan while the other eight members of that country's team took a chartered bus to Osaka.

Japan has required a two-week quarantine for overseas arrivals, but Olympic teams aren't subject to the same border controls.

A state of emergency to curb the spread of the virus in Japan's large urban areas ends Sunday.

Opening ceremonies for the summer games takes place in just five weeks.

Here are more of today's headlines:

NY daily positivity drops below 0.3% for first time

New York's statewide positivity dropped below .3% for the first time since the start of coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday. Of the 88,294 tests reported Saturday, 258, or 0.29%, were positive. Four deaths related to COVID-19 were reported Saturday.

Delta variant causing concerns

Worries are growing about a potential new wave of the coronavirus brought about by the Delta variant. The CDC says the more contagious strain is another reason to get vaccinated if you remain unprotected. The Delta variant is highly contagious and being blamed for rising infection rates. The existing vaccines appear effective against the strain even though they were developed before it surfaced.

China says 1 billion vaccine doses administered

China has announced that more than 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the country. The National Health Commission did not say Sunday how many people had been vaccinated. As elsewhere, most of the vaccines in China are given in two doses. The pace of vaccinations has accelerated in the country of 1.4 billion people after a slow start. The total number of doses given doubled from 500 million in less than a month, according to government tallies.

Anti-government protesters in Brazil take streets as COVID death toll soars past half a million

Anti-government protesters have taken to the streets in cities across Brazil as the nation's confirmed death toll from COVID-19 soared past half a million. It's a tragedy many critics blame on President Jair Bolsonaro's attempt to minimize the disease. Thousands gathered Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, waving flags reading "Get out Bolsonaro." Other marchers hoisted posters reading: "500 thousand deaths. It's his fault."

Russia's COVID rate more than doubles from early June

Russia's national coronavirus taskforce on Saturday reported 17,906 new infections, more than double the daily tally from early June. More than half of the new infections are in Moscow, where cases have tripled this month. The soaring case count has caused alarm among officials, who have increased measures to obstruct the spread.

NYC vaccination rates by zip code

There are about a dozen communities in the New York City area where three out of four people have not been vaccinated yet. 7 On Your Side Investigates created a map where the darkest colored zip codes have the most vaccinated New Yorkers and the lightest, the least.

national geographic covid newsletter sign up

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 COVERAGE

Mask guidance in the Tri-State area

New York City COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

How to get the vaccine in NYC, Tri-State area

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on coronavirus

Submit a News Tip or Question