pandemic
Global trade in medical goods up 16.3% in 2020: WTO
Global trade in medical goods saw 16.3% growth in 2020, compared to 4.7% in 2019 when the Covid-19 pandemic just started unfolding, according to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Exports of medical products – including medicines, medical equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) – rose more than 16%, underscoring how trade has been a lifeline for access to critical goods through the pandemic, after the initial disruptions.
The share of medical goods in the world merchandise trade grew from 5.3% in 2019 to 6.6% in 2020.
Trade in medical goods increased significantly in 2020, with trade in PPEs growing the most – more than 47.2%.
Read: WTO to start Covid-19 vaccine supply negotiations amid clash on patents
Medicine represented 52% of world trade in medical goods in 2020, according to World Trade Statistical Review 2021 issued by the WTO.
A pandemic Olympics, without all the crowds: What gets lost?
Any sporting event is, at its heart, a show. It has the actors on center stage, performing for the rest of us. It has the spectators, sitting in their seats watching raptly. And — in modern times, at least — it has the “home” audience, which in the past half century of growing video viewership has far outpaced the numbers of those actually in attendance.
At their halfway point, the Tokyo Olympics are still grappling with the fact that in that equation, the middle group — those spectators on the scene who cheer, gin up enthusiasm and add texture to the proceedings — couldn’t come. And in the COVID era, a key question presents itself: If an Olympics falls in the forest and nobody there hears it, did it really make a sound?
The Japan organizing committee’s president, Seiko Hashimoto, thinks it will. She said a couple weeks ago that she wasn’t worried that a locked-down, crowdless Olympics — what she calls the “`Tokyo model” — would fundamentally change the experience. “The essence of the Games,” Hashimoto said, “will remain the same.”
They won’t, of course. They already aren’t. And in fairness, how could they, when part of that very essence — the roar of a real, live crowd — has been excised out of (you know the phrase by now) an abundance of caution?
During the 18 months of the coronavirus pandemic, the relationship between the watched and the watchers in audience-based public events has shifted tectonically. Productions that normally happen in front of crowds — crowds that, it’s worth noting, both watch performances and sometimes become an integral part of them — have changed in various ways.
Some entertainment venues turned to presenting performances to people in parked cars, much like drive-in movies; one comedian, Erica Rhodes, filmed a TV special outside the Rose Bowl in California and relied on honking horns for the bulk of her audience response. It added a kinetic, if cacophonous, energy.
On TV, the iconic game show “The Price Is Right,” whose fundamental DNA relies on audience members to “come on down!” and become contestants, shut down for six months and then returned with mostly empty seats and contestants who aren’t surprised to be chosen.
But when it comes to fan interaction, sports, arguably, have been affected the most of all.
Last summer, once big league baseball resumed without fans in the seats, the sport deployed recorded, piped-in crowd noise for the benefit of both athletes and fans watching at home. Most ballparks even created cardboard figures (customizable for a price, of course) to mimic spectator action, a novel if laughable pivot.
It was, though, part of a cultural landscape that has been under construction for a long time.
Sixty years ago, Daniel J. Boorstin, a historian who became the Librarian of Congress, came up with a term: the “pseudo-event.” Among its traits: It is not spontaneous, but planned. It is created primarily for the purpose of being reproduced. And its success is measured in how widely it is reported, and in how many people watch it.
Read: Olympics Latest: 6 banished for breaking COVID rules
Pair that with these astonishing figures: The International Olympic Committee generates almost 75% of its income from the sale of broadcast rights. About 40% of the IOC’s total income is from one source — NBC, the U.S. broadcast rights-holder. And estimates suggest canceling the Tokyo Olympics might have cost the IOC $3 billion to $4 billion.
Those numbers shout one thing. For all of its focus on the athletes and their accomplishments, this event was made to be watched — and, what’s more, made to be watched by people who aren’t here in Tokyo.
“The audience in the venue is no longer the economics. The media is the economics,” says Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.
That was an emerging axiom in the late 20th century, and a more ubiquitous one today. But there’s another question to ask, too: Does the lack of on-site crowds impact the quality of at-home viewing?
On one hand, the vantage points from your recliner are better than anything you could see in person. The best ticket at an Olympic venue couldn’t begin to approximate what an NBC camera sees. “We’re not only in the best seats; we’re in seats that don’t even exist,” Thompson says.
And yet ...
There is a very real purpose to crowds, beyond how they impact athletes and performers who are actually there. Research has shown that at-home audiences watching competition — and other forms of entertainment — react to the feeling that they have proxies who are really in the arena. That, in effect, if we can’t be there, we know there are people like us who are.
“There’s a reason sitcoms have laugh tracks. Seeing and hearing other people enjoy a thing leads us to enjoy that thing,” says Jennifer Talarico, a professor of psychology at Lafayette College who studies how people remember personally experienced events.
Laugh tracks, in use since TV’s early days, were designed to prompt audiences about when to find something funny. But the underlying message is deeper: If we know others are watching and being entertained, it paves the way for our entertainment. That bears out today in the popularity of YouTube videos showing gamers as they game, and in shows like Britain’s “Gogglebox,” in which TV audiences watch ... TV audiences watching TV.
There’s the pathos factor, too. The prevailing American Olympic TV narratives — emotion-saturated backstories about individuals, backed by loved ones, working hard and triumphing — are typically intertwined with crowd shots that include those very supporters watching the achievements happen.
Read: ‘OK not to be OK’: Mental health takes top role at Olympics
“That doesn’t carry through when you can’t pan through to Mom in the crowd,” Talarico says. “Mom isn’t there. She’s still in the same place that she was before. I think that makes the crowd aspect of the Olympics even more influential than a major league baseball game.”
There are mitigating factors to Tokyo’s empty seats during these Games. Social media fills in the gaps to some extent; instead of watching a community of watchers, we can now form our own.
But it’s not quite the same, is it? There’s a reason that young boys playing driveway basketball stop after a shot and shout, “He shoots, he scores!” before cupping their hands to their mouth to approximate a crowd’s roar. There’s nothing like it.
And when TV cameras pan various Olympic venues and find emptiness, or even seats painted in seemingly random drab colors to look as if there are people in them, it’s clear that something — that certain something that only a crowd can provide — is glaringly absent.
In the era of screens and of vicarious watching and global live broadcasts, three simple words, “I was there,” still hold power — even if you’re one of the ones who aren’t.
Pandemic, Remote Working & Procrastination: How to avoid procrastination when working from home?
The Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped our life in a way we never expected. From social distancing to work from home, there has been a lot of change. For working people, the change in the usual schedule has been drastic. All of a sudden you get to do your usual job from the comfort of your home. Many people say that they love working from home and it boosts their productivity. But, it might also make way for increased procrastination. So how does procrastination affect your productivity? And how can you stop procrastinating? Let's find out.
How procrastination reduces work performance and potentials?
Procrastination is nothing but the idea of putting off things until the last minute. It might seem harmless at first glance but the problem occurs when it becomes a habit. A study showed that 20% of the procrastinators are chronic procrastinators, which means, they can't help but procrastinate.
It's hard to pinpoint why people procrastinate. It can be lack of interest, lack of understanding, passive-aggressiveness, or simply momentary pleasure derived from holding off. However, the effect and implications are severe in the long run.
Read How to Restart Your Career after a Break?
As a procrastinator, you are losing your valuable work hours. It can only indulge you in unproductive work doing nothing significant. The realization of lost time often puts people into depression, which simply lengthens the procrastination phase.
Procrastination also makes people lose opportunities. It is always about what could have been for them as they never take the initiative with the opportunities at hand. Procrastinator also fails to manage their work responsibilities. Leaving everything for the last-minute leads to piles up work resulting in missed deadlines. This is a serious block to professional growth.
Read What makes a Great Manager: Know the Qualities and Skills
Procrastination not only ruins your career, but it also implicates that there won't be any significant change in your life. It is like a cycle of unproductive behavior which reduces and ultimately diminishes personal will in the long run.
Ways to stop procrastination while remote working
Setup daily goals
Procrastination is all about not being able to get anything done. As a result, a daily goal list can be a useful step in the right direction. Try to define daily goals or to-do list the night before every working day. Make the list small and realistic. Rather than pondering over anything the next day, start checking the list off. You will see a significant boost in confidence every time you check off a point. It will uplift your mood as well as productivity.
Read Traits of the Smartest and Most Efficient Employees
Don’t multitask
One of the the common misconception is that multitasking makes you more productive. While multitasking reduces the time of actual work, it compromises the quality of the work in the process. It is also something that will simply push you towards procrastination.
Instead of multitasking, you can simply focus on one work at a time. A single task will be hardly overwhelming as you are not required to juggle between many tasks. Thus, working through focusing task by task can increase your performance and work quality.
Read How to improve your productivity and efficiency at Work?
Pandemic Olympics endured heat, and now a typhoon’s en route
First, the sun. Now: the wind and the rain.
The Tokyo Olympics, delayed by the pandemic and opened under oppressive heat, are due for another hit of nature’s power: a typhoon arriving Tuesday morning that is forecast to disrupt at least some parts of the Games.
“Feels like we’re trying to prepare for bloody everything,” said New Zealand rugby sevens player Andrew Knewstubb.
Don’t worry, Japanese hosts say: In U.S. terms, the incoming weather is just a mid-grade tropical storm. And the surfers at Tsurigasaki beach say Tropical Storm Nepartak could actually improve the competition so long as it doesn’t hit the beach directly.
But archery, rowing and sailing have already adjusted their Tuesday schedules. Tokyo Games spokesman Masa Takaya said there were no other changes expected.
“It is a tropical storm of three grade out of five, so you shouldn’t be too much worried about that, but it is a typhoon in Japan interpretation,” Takaya said. “This is the weakest category, but this is still a typhoon so we should not be too optimistic about the impact of the course.”
On the beach about 90 miles east of Tokyo, the competitors want the change in weather so long as the rain and wind don’t make total landfall. The surfing competition was delayed Monday because of low tide. But if the storm hits as expected, it could deliver waves twice as high as expected.
“As a homeowner I say, ‘Oh no, stay away!’” said Kurt Korte, the official Olympic surfing forecaster. “But as a surfer, ‘OK, you can form if you stay out there,’ Everybody can agree a storm out in the distance is the best.”
Also read: Tokyo Olympics 2020: Meet the Bangladesh Athletes
The Japan Meteorological Agency said Nepartak was headed northwest over the Pacific Ocean east of Japan on Monday with landfall expected Tuesday afternoon. The storm could bring strong winds, up to 5.9 inches (150 millimeters) of rainfall and high waves as it cuts across Japan’s northeastern region.
In advance, organizers made the first major alterations to the Olympic archery schedule because of weather. There was an hour delay at the Beijing Games in 2008. Here, the Tuesday afternoon sessions have been postponed until Wednesday and Thursday.
“We’ve heard that storm could be anything from rain or 80-mph wind,” said American archer Jack Williams.
Added Brady Ellison, his teammate: “Unless there’s lightning, right here, we’ll shoot it. We’ll deal with whatever it’s going to be. Rain just starts to suck in general.”
Beach volleyball plays in everything but lightning. Both the women’s final at the Beijing Games and men’s final at the Rio Games were held in heavy rain.
At Ariake Tennis Park, center court has a retractable roof that can be closed for inclement weather, but play on outer courts would have to be suspended.
Also read: Tokyo Olympics begin with muted ceremony and empty stadium
“They can move every match, I think, if there is really going to be a typhoon with rain,” said Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 player in the world. “We never know. I guess they will maybe try to move six matches, but it depends how long the matches will be."
Any sort of rain — typhoon, tropical storm, or even light sprinkling — will be a wild swing from the first three days of the Games.
Svetlana Gomboeva collapsed from heatstroke on the first day of archery but recovered to win a silver medal. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and Medvedev, who who complained his first round match was “some of the worst” heat he’d ever played in, successfully leaned on the International Tennis Federation to give Olympics players extra time during breaks to offset the high temperatures.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had resorted to shoving bags of ice up her skirt, and fiddled with a tube blowing cold air next to her seat. At skateboarding, the intense sun turned the park into a furnace, radiating off the light concrete with such blinding effect that skaters complained the heat was softening the rubber joints on their wheel axles and making the boards harder to control.
July and August in Japan are notoriously hot and humid. Japan has faced criticism for not accurately describing the severity and instead, during the bidding process, calling it mild and ideal.
Daytime highs regularly hit 95 degrees (35 Celsius) but have exceeded 104 degrees (40 Celsius) in some places in recent years. The Environment Ministry began issuing heatstroke alerts in July 2020 for the Tokyo areas and in April for the entire nation.
Japan reported 112 deaths from June to September last year, as well as 64,869 people taken to hospitals by ambulance for heat-related issues. Tokyo logged the largest number of heat stroke sufferers at 5,836 during the three-month period.
Australian canoeist Jessica Fox, the gold medal favorite in the kayak slalom, said the wild weather swings have been a disruption to the Olympic event. “It is like a bath,” she said. “It is like paddling in bathwater.”
And the impending typhoon disruption?
“I am a bit concerned about that,” Fox said. “I saw the surfers and they were all excited about the weather, which isn’t ideal for us.”
If Tuesday’s bronze medal softball game is postponed, the Canada team worries it could get stuck in Japan because members had flights the following day.
“We very much hope that the game goes (Tuesday) so that we can get on a plane and go home,” coach Mark Smith said. “As you probably know, with the pandemic, that flights are very hard to come by.”
The weather extremes are just another obstacle Olympic organizers have faced during these beleaguered Games, already delayed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Asked on Monday if Tokyo officials feel they can’t catch a break, Takaya said they’ve had to be flexible.
“I mean, you know, we’re supposed to react to any situation, that’s one of our jobs,” he said. “This is absolutely a regular exercise we have to face.”
Pandemic Yoga: How to strengthen lungs, ease breathing problems with yoga
When yoga finds its way into a conversation, many focus on the weight loss and workout experience of the art. People often tend to overlook the impact of Yoga to achieve healthy wellness and a sharpened mind. During the pandemic, many people are bound to do Yoga at home, since classes are still closed in many parts of the world. The human respiratory system is always at risk, even more so now with the epidemic. Therefore, we need to know how to strengthen our lungs and treat breathing problems through yoga. Here’s how you do it.
Importance of breathing
Breathing is something most never think about, which begs the question “what’s the point of being conscious about it?”. As you are breathing every moment, you may not give much importance to it. However, it is an undeniable fact that breathing is the core activity of literally every exercise you try. And, it has a significant impact on how your external activities are going to affect your brains and vice versa.
Read Best Martial Arts For Fitness
For example, when breathing becomes erratic, the body is most likely pushing its limits - whether that be for fitness or exhaustion.
Yoga poses are designed to ensure that calm breathing can center yourself and a state of intentional peacefulness can improve the mind and body. The ultimate goal is for each breath to be effortless while performing poses that can help catalyze the process.
Meditation may be one of the ingredients for effective breathing, but much comes from the basics of knowing how to inhale and exhale.
Read After Coronavirus: Police adopts yoga for enhanced immunity to disease
What we need to know about the breathing cycle
Inhale
Often considered the first part of a breathing cycle, using your diaphragm and intercostal muscles deliberately is where many may have overlooked. When the diaphragm is used as a tool to let air into the lungs, ribs, and sternum should be raised as an indicator of an effective deep breath. Normally, poses that expose the front of the body are intended to focus on proper inhales so that your body has the full range of motion when it comes to taking the first step. This is why many of the breath-focused poses never have a person facing down or arching his/her body forward.
Read Tips to Get Marathon Level Endurance and Stamina
Exhale
Interestingly, inhaling takes effort, while exhilaration is labeled as the passive process of a breathing cycle. To breathe out is effortless and involves the relaxation of the diaphragm and respiratory muscles. This is primarily the part of the cycle that highlights the sense of calmness often seen in yoga. Each pose is deliberate, meaning that the wrong technique could easily lead to breathing constraints, while proper posture will introduce a sense of serenity.
Read How to choose the best shoes for running
Common mistakes during breathing
Yes, it is indeed possible to make mistakes even when it comes to breathing. One of the most important rules to breathing in yoga is to pace yourself between inhaling and exhaling. When transitioning from one to the other too quickly, the air gets cycled too quickly and your respiratory muscles do not have an optimal time of contraction before relaxation. Much like any muscle that needs to be trained, this is no different.
During this time, it is possibly the best time to move and this coupled can be applied beyond yoga as well. Moving during an inhale will stifle your breathing pattern and cause uneasy heaving which is the furthest thing from breathing calmly.
Read Best Team Sports for Weight Loss
Yoga poses to strengthen lungs and improve breathing
Yogasana
The merging of physical stances and the proper method of breathing is called Yogasana. This is the fundamental building block that makes for experienced yogis who can perfectly balance the body and the mind. While breathing is often referred to as ‘prana’, identifying which 'Yogasana' poses is critical to ensure that you’re getting the optimal opportunities for healthy breathing.
The trick is to get into positions that usually don’t force too much exhaustion out of you so that you can concentrate on pacing each breath. It means that leaning towards cardiovascular activity could be more of a distraction if weight loss isn’t the goal. Here are a few go-to poses to immediately work on your breathing.
Read What Does Yoga Do For Weight Loss?
Sukhasana
This is possibly one of yoga’s most iconic poses on posters and website pages. It is done by holding your left wrist with your right hand behind your back and leaning forward. It may feel strange to do it for newcomers, but the pose helps with blood flow to the lungs and also increases concentration. Better yet, this pose has been known to also ease the respiratory effects of common coughs and colds.
Read Yoga vs Pilates: Which One Is Better For You?
Bhujangasana
Otherwise known as the Cobra pose, this does wonders for the back if done slowly and with a proper warm-up. The first step is to keep both hands on the ground while laying on your stomach. Slowly, you will want to straighten your arms and bend your back upwards and face the ceiling. It has been said that this pose does well for mental calmness and also eases the mind while strengthening it. The extension of the spine helps relieve asthmatic symptoms such as the congested chest.
Read Which Type of Yoga Should You Try?
Matsyasana
It is also called the Fish Pose. The first step is to put your arms under your body. With you lying down and your chest facing up, breathing in while arching your back will allow your breathing to strengthen lung muscles. It provides better circulation and blood flow. It is not one of the most mainstream poses and certainly one to add to your routine if you are looking for the best poses for improving your breathing.
Read Coronavirus Tips: Free Online Yoga Courses for Stress Relief and Better Immunity
Vasisthasana
Vasisthasana is another flu killer that is known for being one of the best poses around for anti-inflammatory and antibiotic purposes. However, it may appear that tilting sideways with your arm up might be uncomfortable. Still, it is one of the best poses to moderate your breathing and clear the lungs from phlegm congestion. If you are in a pinch and are looking for one that can help with short-term effects, this pose is definitely worth a try.
Read Wellbeing during COVID-19: How yoga can help you during quarantine
Bottom line
So far we have discussed a bunch of breathing techniques and yoga poses to strengthen lungs and ease breathing problems. However, it is recommended to take advice from a doctor and a Yoga expert for choosing the right pose for you.
Biden stumps for McAuliffe in early test of political clout
President Joe Biden led the kind of campaign rally on Friday that was impossible last year because of the pandemic, speaking before nearly 3,000 people in support of a fellow moderate Democrat whose race for Virginia governor could serve as a test of Biden’s own strength and coattails.
Biden motorcaded across the Potomac River to back Terry McAuliffe, a former governor looking for a second term whose centrist leanings in many ways mirror those of the president. The race is seen as an early measure of voters’ judgment on Democratic control of all branches of the federal government.
The president stood before an enthusiastic and largely unmasked crowd who gathered around a park pavilion and playground on a warm July night. He emphasized that he shared the same vision as McAuliffe about the need for greater public investments in order to drive economic growth. But Biden was also focused on the political stakes.
“You’re not gonna find anyone, I mean anyone, who knows how to get more done for Virginia than Terry,” Biden said. “Off-year election, the country’s looking. This is a big deal.”
Biden pointed to his management of the pandemic and highlighted the economic recovery during the first six months of his term, providing a window into his party’s messaging as it tries to maintain narrow margins next fall in both houses of Congress. He also highlighted the relative popularity of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill and called for action on his infrastructure plan, much as he has done in official visits to congressional districts expected to see close races next year.
It was a clear return to politics as normal after 2020, when Biden had to speak to supporters who stayed in their cars at drive-in rallies or give remarks in front of sparse and socially distanced audiences. The rock songs and tightly packed people standing before center stage suggested that Democrats will not be waging campaigns via Zoom meetings and conference calls this year.
Protesters against an oil pipeline interrupted Biden and the president took a shot at his 2020 opponent as he told the crowd to not shout them down.
“It’s not a Trump rally,” Biden said. “Let them holler. No one’s paying attention.”
McAuliffe’s win in his state’s gubernatorial primary was one of a string of recent victories by self-styled pragmatic candidates in relatively low-turnout elections — which tend to draw the most loyal base voters — and his race is being carefully watched by Democrats looking to shape their messaging for next year.
READ: Biden says getting vaccinated ‘gigantically important’
“It’s an important test for the Biden administration. The margins are so small, and he needs to be able to use his clout to help candidates get across the finish line,” said Adrienne Elrod, a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign who also worked on Biden’s inaugural. “His message is simple: that he is delivering on promises on vaccines, record job growth and infrastructure.”
McAuliffe, who previously served as governor from 2014 to 2018, is facing Glenn Youngkin, a political newcomer who made a fortune in private equity. Despite the state trending blue over the last decade, the race is seen as competitive. As one of only two regularly scheduled governor’s races this year, is drawing outsize national attention as a potential measuring stick of voter sentiment ahead of the 2022 midterms.
Biden and McAuliffe profile similarly, as moderate Democrats who don’t necessarily electrify the party’s base but who won their primaries on a promise of electability. The Virginia race could serve as a checkup on Biden’s status, and the Democratic National Committee has pledged to spend $5 million to help McAuliffe’s campaign this year, a clear signal that the White House has prioritized the race.
Youngkin has distanced himself from former President Donald Trump, even as much of the Republican Party remains in the thrall of the former president.
Still, Democrats on Friday repeatedly tried to link Youngkin with Trump, who lost Virginia last year.
“I tell you what, the guy Terry is running against is an acolyte of Donald Trump, for real,” Biden said. “I don’t know where these guys come from.”
Biden has long been an eager campaigner on the road — and on the rope line — during his time as senator and vice president, and emerged as a successful surrogate in 2018 when Democrats won back control of the House.
But the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated campaigning for the bulk of the 2020 race, and the events that were held for the general election stretch run were socially distant and infrequent. As the pandemic receded this spring, Biden, always the most tactile of politicians, has reveled in interacting with people, spending an hour chatting with supporters at a recent Philadelphia event.
Aides said he was eager to do the same in Arlington on Friday. But privately, there was increased worry about the danger posed by the virus’s highly contagious delta variant.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would follow federal health guidelines, which offer no restrictions for vaccinated individuals.
Biden has pledged to work with Republicans and has spent enormous political energy on the bipartisan infrastructure deal. But he still went after the GOP on Friday, saying it “offers nothing more than fear, lies and broken promises.”
White House aides have pointed to polling that suggests Biden’s agenda is broadly popular with voters of both parties, even though it has received little support from GOP lawmakers in Washington. But Republican strategists cast doubt on whether Biden’s poll numbers would translate into votes.
While both Biden and McAuliffe have been active in Democratic politics for decades, they have relatively few direct political connections, though McAuliffe ran the state campaign for Biden in 2020. But their political and ideological similarities are extensive.
READ: Biden backs Trump rejection of China’s South China Sea claim
Virginia’s off-year elections have always been looked at as a sort of national bellwether, and “with the Democratic nominee being so philosophically close and similar to Biden, many may see Virginia as a stronger bellwether than usual,” said Mark Rozell, a political science professor at George Mason University.
Current Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, like all Virginia governors, is prohibited from seeking a second consecutive term. The other notable off-year election in 2021, for New Jersey governor, is not expected to be competitive, with Democrats likely maintaining control.
Olympics, pandemic and politics: There’s no separating them
Over and over, year after year, the stewards of the Olympics say it: The Games aren’t supposed to be political. But how do you avoid politics when you’re trying to pull off an event of this complexity during a lethal and protracted pandemic?
Consider:
— The Japanese medical community largely opposes these Olympics; the government’s main medical adviser, Dr. Shigeru Omi, has said it’s “abnormal” to hold them during a pandemic.
— Medical journals The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine have raised questions about the risks, with the former criticizing the World Health Organization for not taking a clear stand and the latter saying the IOC’s decision to proceed “is not informed by the best scientific evidence.”
— The second-largest selling newspaper in Japan, the Asahi Shimbun, has called for the Olympics to be canceled. So have other regional newspapers.
— There’s the risk of the Olympics spreading variant strains, particularly after two members of the Ugandan delegation were detected with the delta variant.
Still, they are going ahead; the opening ceremony is Friday. So how have the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga been able to surmount strong opposition?
Read: WHO head says Olympics virus risk inevitable
At the core: the “host city contract” that gives the IOC sole authority to cancel. If Japan cancels, it would have to compensate the IOC. And there are billions at stake. Japan has officially spent $15.4 billion but government audits suggest it’s twice that much. Japanese advertising giant Dentsu Inc., a key player in landing the corruption-tainted bid in 2013, has raised more than $3 billion from local sponsors.
Estimates suggest a cancellation — highly unlikely at this point, less than 48 hours before the opening — could cost the IOC up to $4 billion in broadcast rights income. Broadcasting and sponsors account for 91% of the IOC income, and American network NBCUniversal provides about 40% of the IOC’s total income.
The Associated Press sought perspectives from inside and outside Japan on the politics of putting this on.
___
KOICHI NAKANO, political scientist, Sophia University:
“It’s a bit like a gambler who already has lost too much. Pulling out of it now will only confirm the huge losses made, but carrying on you can still cling to the hope of winning big and taking it all back. (Suga) might as well take the chance and hope for the best by going ahead with it. At least there is some chance that he can claim the games to be a success — just by doing it — and saturating the media with pride and glory might help him turn the negative opinion around.”
___
MARK CONRAD, lawyer, Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University:
“The IOC carries a brand that is powerful. Athletes from around the world coming together to compete in peace is a heart-tugging draw. It takes an entertainment event and infuses it with a certain level of piety and awe. Who is against peace? With this “Olympism” as a goal, it has snagged corporate sponsors willing to pay lots of money. Therefore, the IOC has the leverage to exact contract terms very favorable to it and it certainly has done that in this case. The fact that only the IOC can formally decide to pull the plug on the games — even in the case of unforeseeable health events -- is testament to this.”
___
HELEN JEFFERSON LENSKYI, sociologist, author, “The Olympic Games: A Critical Approach”:
“The host city contract hands over all the power to the IOC. The Olympic industry has had 120-plus years to win hearts and minds around the globe, with obvious success. In the age of the internet, their PR controls the message and protects the brand 24/7. The IOC is also beyond the reach of any oversight agency, including the governments of host countries. It can violate a country’s human rights protections with immunity, including athletes’ right to access domestic courts of law.”
___
AKI TONAMI, political scientist, University of Tsukuba:
“Based on what I am hearing, people within the government have been given their instructions to make the Games happen, and that is their singular focus right now — for better or for worse. Their hope is to get through the Games with as few missteps as possible. Politicians may well be aware of the risk they are taking but hope that once the games begin the Japanese public will persevere ‘for the good of Japan’ and forget how we got there.”
___
JOHN HORNE, sociologist, Waseda University, co-author with Garry Whannel of “Understanding the Olympics”:
“The IOC is an elitist club that garners support from other elites and people — and countries — that aspire to joining the elite. From a sports perspective, the IOC represents the custodian of the exclusive medals that athletes in numerous sports aspire to, acts as the chief promoter of the mythology of the healing power of sport, and the organization that most international sports federations and national Olympic committees are reliant on for funding.”
___
GILL STEEL, political scientist, Doshisha University:
“Politically, the opposition is so weak, the government can do pretty much anything it wants. Although a disastrous Olympics would damage the LDP’s credibility, the party likely feels safe because a majority of the public doubts the capability of the opposition to govern. The government may be hoping that once the games start, public opinion will turn — at the very least, producing a distraction, and at most, perhaps a rally round the flag effect.”
___
ROBERT WHITING, author of several books on Japan including the latest, “Tokyo Junkie”:
“You notice how nobody seems to be in charge. You have all these different entities: the Tokyo organizing committee; the Japanese Olympic Committee; the prime minister’s office; the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike; the Japan Sports Agency; the Foreign Ministry; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Suga is asked in the Diet (Japanese parliament) about canceling the games and says it’s not his responsibility. Nobody wants to lose face.”
Read: Zero risk? Virus cases test Olympic organizers' assurances
___
DAVID LEHENY, political scientist, Waseda University:
“A lot of the opposition is shallow and movable, though of course that’s contingent on the Olympics actually working out. There will be a lot of people (broadcasters, etc.) invested in trying to make it look like a good show, so I think they’ll have the winds at their back if there’s not an appreciable spike in COVID deaths or any heat-related tragedies for the athletes.”
___
RYU HOMMA, author and former advertising agency executive:
“If it turns out there is a surge in coronavirus patients and it becomes a catastrophe, that’s not the responsibility of the IOC. It’s the Japanese government that will be stuck with the responsibility.”
Muslims in Bangladesh celebrating another Eid-ul-Azha amid pandemic
Muslims throughout the country are celebrating their second largest religious festival, Eid-ul-Azha, in the shadow of Covid-19 pandemic sacrificing animals and distributing the meat among neighbours and the poor.
This year’s celebration had a pandemic written all over its festivities with Covid-19’s Delta variant wreaking havoc across the country, shattering death records almost every day.
Meanwhile, the government has taken various safety measures to make sure that the celebration does not help the pandemic worsens further.
Also read: President Hamid offers Eid prayers at Bangabhaban
Covid’s frightening peak in Bangladesh; record 231 more die
Reeling from the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh on Monday saw 231 deaths related to the virus, the highest number since the pandemic hit the country, amid an eight-day pause in the nationwide strict lockdown.
The situation is likely to get even worse because of the fallout from the lockdown pause ahead of Eid holidays.
With Covid's Delta variant spreading fast, Bangladesh already tallied more than 1.1 million infections and 18,000-plus deaths from the pandemic. The country's fatalities have been hovering at approximately 200 for the last two weeks.
Also, Covid-19 infections in Bangladesh have reached 99% of the peak, with more than 11,828 new cases reported each day. The highest daily average was reported on July 15.
Also read: Delta variant in children: Chattogram reveals troubling data
The country recorded 13,321 infections in 24 hours till Monday morning after testing 45,012 samples.
Bangladesh reported its highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 230 on July 11 and 13,768 infections the next day.
Amid Covid pandemic dengue could worsen: DGHS
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has warned that the country’s dengue situation could worsen amid the out-of-control surge in coronavirus infections across the country.
DGHS spokesman and line director, Prof. Dr. Nazmul Islam on Sunday expressed his deep concern regarding dengue, at a regular heath bulletin on coronavirus.
He said, "Coronavirus situation in the country is on the rise now. If the dengue situation deteriorates, it will be difficult for us to handle it."
The situation would continue to deteriorate if those responsible for mosquito control across the country do not try their best by all means, Dr. Nazmul said.
He advised the people to be much more aware in preventing dengue.
READ: 81 dengue cases reported in 24 hrs: DGHS
Everything including the rooftop flowerpots, the drains outside the houses should be kept clean.
The commode in the bathroom, buckets or anything else should not be left with water in them, especially if the house remains unoccupied for three days or more.
As aedes mosquitoes mainly bite during the day he also suggested day-time use of mosquito-nets while sleeping.
He said, if someone has a fever, they should be tested for dengue as well as corona.
READ: Drives to continue to control dengue: DSCC mayor
And in case of treatment, the medicine must be taken on the advice of a registered doctor. If necessary, one could take treatment by contacting the hotline number of DGHS.