Fans planning to attend the Tokyo Olympics may need group therapy as Japanese officials have issued a Covid-19 state of emergency. Spectators will not be allowed to attend the events that will instead be held in empty stadiums. “The ban was announced by the International Olympic Committee and Japanese organizers, reducing the games to a made-for-TV event.” Those empty stadiums are a thing that many around the world hoped we had left in the dust. Months ago, the Tokyo Olympics were heading towards a celebration of normalcy, but the virus caught them in the homestretch. It’s a reminder that this crisis, while so much better in so many places, is not over.
+ The divided threat of Covid-19 is not just between countries, it’s within them. As New York salutes health workers, Missouri fights a surge.

+ And within states. Five undervaccinated clusters put the entire United States at risk.

+ Global COVID-19 deaths hit 4 million amid rush to vaccinate.