World Coronavirus Dispatch: Europe's soccer giants feel Covid pinch

Japan's daily cases top 10,000 for the first time, Most South Africans don't want Covid shot, and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Most South Africans don’t want Covid shot, many rely on prayer

South Africa, which has over seven million infections and about 70,000 deaths, is seeking to vaccinate two-thirds of its 60 million population as soon as possible in a bid to control the pandemic. However, the country, one of the worst hit in the entire African continent, has to tackle a high percentage of vaccine hesitancy even as it tries to accelerate inoculation. A recent survey has found that most South Africans are not willing to take the shots and almost half of them say they rely on prayers for more protection against the disease. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 195,977,069

Global deaths: 4,187,473

Vaccine doses administered: 3,970,247,722

Nations with most cases: US (34,672,829), India (31,484,605), Brazil (19,749,073), Russia (6,094,379), France (6,088,930).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

The FDA extends the J&J vaccine’s shelf life to six months

The US Food and Drug Administration agreed to allow Johnson & Johnson to extend the shelf life of its coronavirus vaccine to six months. The FDA’s decision came as state health officials in the United States were growing increasingly concerned that doses of the vaccine would expire and go waste. The vaccines were previously set to expire after four and a half months. The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be stored in normal refrigeration, as compared to Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, both of which must be stored at much lower temperatures. Read here
 

Japan's daily cases top 10,000 for the first time amid Olympics

Japan's daily total of Covid-19 cases topped 10,000 for the first time on Thursday, with Tokyo experiencing surging infections, casting a shadow over the Olympics. The capital confirmed an additional 3,865 cases the same day, logging a record figure for the third straight day and putting pressure on the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to take stronger countermeasures. Tokyo's seven-day rolling average of cases has risen to 2224.1 per day, up 61.9 per cent from the previous week. Read here

European football clubs’ revenue declines by $4.4 bn over pandemic

Europe's giant football clubs suffered heavily, taking a $4.4 billion hit as the coronavirus pandemic forced the soccer franchises to abandon or delay games amid restrictions. Contracting for a rare first time since the global financial crisis, the European soccer market's combined revenue fell by 13 per cent, with the England's Premier League (EPL) clubs feeling the most pain. The Bundesliga in Germany proved the most resilient, helping it to overtake Spain’s La Liga as the continent’s second-most lucrative league after EPL. The report, brought out by Delloite, said France and Italy had suffered badly because of row with media companies that bought television rights. Read here