COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 15 July – World Economic Forum

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 188.3 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 4.05 million. More than 3.51 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Haiti received on Wednesday its first 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the US government through the COVAX vaccine distribution scheme, regional health officials said.

South Korea is sending a medical team to the Middle East to tackle a coronavirus outbreak on one of its ships on anti-piracy patrol. New daily infections in South Korea are hovering around record levels with 1,600 reported on Thursday.

More than 5,000 anti-vaccine protesters rallied in Athens on Wednesday to oppose Greece's coronavirus vaccinations programme.

Police in Paris clashed with demonstrators protesting against President Emmanuel Macron's plan to require a COVID-19 vaccine certificate or negative PCR test to gain entry to bars, restaurants and cinemas from next month.

Singapore reported its highest number of local coronavirus cases in 10 months on Wednesday, after the discovery of a cluster among hostesses and customers of KTV karaoke lounges.

The Australian state of Victoria was ordered into a five-day lockdown on Thursday following a spike in COVID-19 infections. The city of Sydney is also in lockdown as the two main population hubs battle an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant.

How case numbers are rising around the globe.

Image: Our World in Data

A number of COVID-19 cases have emerged involving athletes and others taking part in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, reports Reuters.

The following is a list to date, in chronological order.

JUNE 20 - A coach with Uganda's squad tests positive on arrival at Narita airport and is quarantined at a government-designated facility. The rest of the team heads by bus to their host city, Izumisano near Osaka in western Japan.

JUNE 23 - A Ugandan athlete tests positive, Izumisano officials said.

JULY 4 - A member of Serbia's Olympic rowing team tests positive on arrival. The other four team members are isolated as close contacts.

JULY 9 - One Lithuanian and one Israeli athlete test positive, according to reports. Later reports say the Lithuanian's results were unclear and subsequently tested negative.

JULY 14 - A masseur for the Russian women's rugby sevens team tests positive, forcing the team into isolation for two days, the RIA news agency reports. Officials in Munakata, southwestern Japan, confirmed that one staff member was hospitalised and said none of the team members could be considered close contacts.

- The refugee Olympic team has delayed its arrival in Japan following a positive case with a team official in Doha, Qatar. The infected official is in quarantine without symptoms and 26 of the 29 refugees will remain in their Doha training camp.

- Seven staff at a hotel in Hamamatsu, central Japan, where dozens of Brazilian athletes are staying have tested positive, a city official said.

- Twenty-one members of the South African rugby team are in isolation after they are believed to have been in close contact with a case on their flight.

JULY 15 - Eight athletes from the Kenya women's rugby team were classified as close contacts after a positive coronavirus case was found on their flight to Tokyo, said an official with the southwestern city of Kurume, where they were set to hold a training camp.

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COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 15 July - World Economic Forum