World Coronavirus Dispatch: Why virus variants have baffling names

Japan to let Olympic athletes in early, Australia's economic recovery continues, vaccine passports could be next political flash point and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Japan to let Olympic athletes in as early as March

With the Olympics opening ceremony just five months away, Japan is planing to lift the ban on foreign atheletes taking part in the summer games as soon as March, according to a report in the Nikkei Asia. Japan currently has a blanket ban on foreign arrivals. Exemptions are offered only for special cases such as family reunification, international conferences and medical reasons. The government will expand the exemptions to allow Olympic athletes, their coaches and other personnel. Arrivals via the Olympics exemption will not be permitted to use public transport, and travel will be restricted to dedicated buses or other vehicles. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 114,751,575

Global deaths: 2,549,260

Nations with most cases: US (28,719,624), India (11,139,516), Brazil (10,646,926), Russia (4,220,291), United Kingdom (4,200,700).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Vaccine Passports: Covid’s next political flash point

The next big flash point for governments in response to the coronavirus is vaccine passports. This debate has already triggered cries of tyranny and discrimination in Britain, protests in Denmark, digital disinformation in the United States and geopolitical skirmishing within the European Union. Vaccine passports are proof of immunity that governments issue to citizens so that they can travel without any restrictions. The idea is to allow families to reunite, economies to restart and hundreds of millions of people who have received a shot to return to a degree of normalcy. However, given the sharp divide between rich and poor nations, it is inevitable that most in the rich world will be vaccinated and can travel free. On the other hand, the poorer countries will need to tighten curbs as they fall behind in inoculations. Dividing the world between the vaccinated and unvaccinated raises daunting political and ethical questions. Read here

Why coronavirus strains have such strange names

20H/501Y.V2. VOC 202012/02. B.1.351. These are the new names scientists have given to the coronavirus variant that has been first found in South Africa. Researchers and scientists love giving complex and convoluted names to the virus variants, but the public will to pronounce and recall them remains a question. As part of the natural evolving process, like any other virus, coronaviruses also change their genetic nature and undergo mutations. There are thousands of versions of the pathogen, but only few become alarmingly dangerous and get noticed by everyone. The rest just fade away. As the pandemic drags on, the public has one more anxiety. That is to remember all these names. Having said that, some experts and the World Health Organization (WHO) are working on simpler ways of giving names so that it is easy for general public to deal with. Read here

Australia's economic recovery continues

The Australian economy grew by 3.1 per cent in the December quarter as the domestic recovery from the pandemic-induced shock consolidated. The continued bounce back in growth late last year as coronavirus restrictions eased followed a 3.4 per cent increase in GDP in the previous September quarter. While the solid December quarter result suggests the economy is on a recovery path, in annual terms, there has been a 1.1 per cent fall in GDP. The Australian statistics body reported that GDP per capita was also weaker, falling 1.8 per cent. The economic recovery, while exceeding market expectations and previous economic forecasts, was also partial. Read here