The State Department issued a "Do Not Travel" warning for Japan, citing the surge in coronavirus cases.
Why it matters: The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to run from July 23 to August 8, with thousands of athletes from all over the globe set to arrive in the city.
New York City public schools "will be back in their classroom in September, all in-person, no remote," Mayor Bill de Blasio told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday.
Why it matters: Some1 million students in the country's largest public school district will return to class for five days a week in the city that was once the epicenter of the pandemic, where de Blasio now says "COVID is plummeting."
Health companies and startups are getting into the business of helping K-12 schools in the U.S. figure out how to safely reopen in person — and stay open in person — in the fall.
Why it matters: Even as cases and deaths come down nationwide, experts worry about the unknowns the fall could bring as people retreat indoors. That's a particular concern with the uncertainty in child COVID vaccine uptake and adults' looming need for booster shots.
Instead of mandating COVID-19 vaccination, more companies are offering employees cash, paid time off, and other financial incentives to get the shot.
The big picture: Employers are favoring "carrots" over "sticks" in the push to get more people vaccinated. But those carrots could run afoul of federal law — if the rewards are too big.
As more colleges and universities announce COVID vaccine requirements for the fall, they are facing additional logistical challenges figuring out what that will look like for international students.
Why it matters: Ensuring international students can get their vaccines is one big piece of safely reopening campuses — which, in turn, could also help reverse some of the dramatic enrollment declines U.S. colleges saw due to COVID-19.
There's much higher public support for government-imposed vaccine mandates than businesses' use of "vaccine passports," even if they're called something else, according to recent surveys by the COVID States Project.
Why it matters: Private businesses are increasingly responsible for making pandemic policy, but this polling suggests that it'd be much more popular for the government to take the stronger role, at least when it comes to vaccine requirements.
Health officials in India are scrambling to contain a potentially fatal fungal infection affecting people being treated for or who've recovered from COVID-19, as the official coronavirus death toll surpassed 300,000 on Monday.
Why it matters: Mucormycosis, the "black fungus" infection, is still quite rare, with some 9,000 cases as of Saturday, per NDTV. But Indian health services are overstretched treating COVID-19 patients, with oxygen and other supplies running out in many places amid sluggish vaccine deliveries, AP notes.
A COVID-19 breath test designed to return accurate results within one minute has received provisional authorization from Singapore health regulators Monday, per a statement from the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Why it matters: An accurate test like this breathalyzer, developed by NUS startup Breathonix, could play a key role in reviving the pandemic-hit travel industry, per Bloomberg.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul won't get vaccinated against COVID-19 because he previously contracted the virus, the Republican lawmaker told radio host John Catsimatidis.
The big picture: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises vaccination for those who previously had the coronavirus because experts do not yet know how long the immune system will protect against reinfection.
An advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a few reports of heart inflammation in young adults following their inoculation from two-dose mRNA vaccines.
Why it matters: Although the CDC says reports of myocarditis, or heart inflammation, have not exceeded expected rates, the condition can lead to rapid or abnormal heart rhythms and even sudden cardiac death.
Two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca are "highly effective" against variants first detected in India and the United Kingdom, health officials in England announced Saturday.
Why it matters: Some health experts have expressed concerns that contagious new variants could be more resistant against coronavirus vaccines, potentially prolonging the pandemic.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has been issued with a fine for failing to follow pandemic health regulations at a public event in Maranhao state.
Driving the news: Maranhao's leftist governor, Flávio Dino, tweeted late Friday that the far-right president would be fined "for the promotion ... of gatherings with no sanitary safeguards," noting that masks are mandatory and gatherings of over 100 people are banned in the state.
Italian rock band Måneskin won Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, early Sunday, as the European song contest took place in front of a crowd of 3,500 and tens of millions of TV viewers worldwide.
Why it matters: The event was canceled last year due to the pandemic. Its return with strict testing and hygiene measures in place marks a "step toward a post-COVID-19 return to live entertainment," notes AP, as several European countries reopen their economies.
