coronavirus pandemic
Dating changed during the pandemic; apps are following suit
Early in the coronavirus pandemic, Jennifer Sherlock went out with a few men she met through dating apps. The dates were “weird,” she said, and not just because they were masked, socially distanced and outdoors.
One one occasion, a date remained masked while they were out for a stroll, but soon after invited her back to his place, a move Sherlock saw as reckless. “It was so off putting, and awkward,” she said. “So we wouldn’t be safe outside without mask(s), but we would be safe back at his place maskless?”
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She decided she needed a way to filter people, so she began arranging video chats before agreeing to meet anybody in person. Sherlock, 42, a PR consultant who lives in New Jersey, said it’s a practice she’ll continue post-pandemic.
Sherlock isn’t alone in changing the way she used dating apps during the pandemic, prompting many to roll out new features. Despite the social distancing of the past 18 months, the use of dating apps in general has surged as people sought connections amid their isolation.
Tinder reported that 2020 was its busiest year yet; this year, its users have already set two records for usage between January and March. Hinge tripled its revenue from 2019 to 2020, and the company expects it to double from that this year.
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In response to changing demands, Tinder announced new tools last month that will allow users to get to know people better online. People will now be able to add videos to their profile and can chat with others even before matching with them.
“Historically consumers were reluctant to connect via video because they didn’t see the need for it,” said Jess Carbino, an online dating expert and sociologist who has worked for Tinder and Bumble. Post-COVID, however, many people expect a higher degree of screening, she said. “Online dating apps like Tinder are leaning into that.”
The dating apps say their research shows video chats are here to stay, even as life starts to return to normal in some parts of the world.
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Almost half of Tinder users had a video chat with a match during the pandemic, with 40% of them intending to continue them post-pandemic. Tinder says this is largely driven by Gen Z users in their late teens and early 20s, who now make up more than half of the app’s users. And a majority of Hinge UK users, 69%, also say they’ll continue with virtual dates after the pandemic.
Tinder, alongside other popular apps including Hinge, OkCupid and Bumble, has in Britain and the U.S. partnered with the government to add a badge to profiles indicating that users have been vaccinated. (There’s no verification process, though, so matches could be lying).
Read:Likee bans 42,751 accounts in 5 months for violating rules
Dating app users are also increasingly looking for deeper connections rather than casual encounters, Carbino said.
That’s what happened to Maria del Mar, 29, an aerospace engineer, who wasn’t expecting to end up in a relationship after she matched with someone on Tinder early in the pandemic last year.
She started chatting with her now-boyfriend through the app in April 2020 during a complete lockdown in Spain, where she lives. Having moved back to her parent’s tiny town of León from Barcelona, del Mar was bored when she joined the app, but was surprised to find many things in common with her current partner.
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After weeks of chatting, they finally met for a first date — a socially-distanced hike — after restrictions eased slightly in May 2020. Now the two have moved in together. “If it wasn’t for the app, probably our paths wouldn’t have crossed,” she said.
Fernando Rosales, 32, was a frequent user of Grindr, an app popular with gay men looking for more casual encounters, in pre-pandemic times. He turned to Tinder for social connections when coronavirus restrictions prevented people from meeting others in London, where he lives.
“Grindr is like, ’I like you, you like me, you’re within 100 meters of me, I’m going to come over,’” said Rosales, who works at the popular British coffee chain Pret.
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“Tinder is something more social,” he added,. Sometimes he uses the app just to meet others to play online video games or video chat.
Ocean, 26, a drag artist and photographer in Berlin, turned to the live video feature of a LGBTQ+ app called Taimi to make friends across the world during the pandemic. Having two-to-five minute video chats with strangers from places like the Philippines or parts of the U.S. was “amazing,” she said. Ocean’s given name is Kai Sistemich; she identifies as a woman when in drag.
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She said she’ll continue using the feature post-pandemic, especially while she’s doing solo activities like cooking, or getting ready before going out to party.
Sherlock also expects some of her pandemic dating behaviors to carry into the post-pandemic world. She recently asked two men she was texting for Facetime chats before meeting in person, something she would not have done pre-pandemic.
“It’s a crazy dating world out there, so saving time is necessary,” she said.
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Khulna division logs 31 Covid deaths in 24 hours
Khulna division has logged 31 new Covid-related deaths in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, as the Delta variant of the deadly coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the country.
According to the health director's office, eight people died in Khulna, seven each in Jashore and Kushtia, four in Jhenaidah, three in Meherpur and one each in Chuadanga and Magura districts.
Read:Khulna div registers another 40 Covid deaths, 880 cases
The total death toll in the division has now reached 2,485, officials said.
Besides, some 946 new Covid infections have been detected in 10 districts of the division in the past 24 hours, pushing up the total cases to 96,131.
Earlier, 26 people died of Covid-19 in the division on Friday, while 1,373 people were found infected with the virus.
Read: Khulna division sees 46 Covid deaths amid deepening crisis
In Khulna division, the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Chuadanga on March 19, 2020.
So far, 72,872 people have been recovered from Covid in the division.
Olympic families find solace, create bonds far from Tokyo
Christina Dressel began organizing the room long before the NBC cameras started rolling.
The mother of swimming superstar Caeleb Dressel reeled off a makeshift seating chart for the couch, directed everyone who wanted to be on television where to stand and even scoured the posh hotel for life-sized, cardboard cutouts of her son. She found four and lined them up behind the 40-strong Dressel posse.
She then asked if the coffee table was too cluttered with empty wine glasses and water bottles. Nope. After all, it was an accurate portrayal of this party scene.
Read: At an extraordinary Olympics, acts of kindness abound
The Dressels were among hundreds who accepted an offer to spend part of the Tokyo Olympics at Universal Orlando with other equally disappointed friends and families of American athletes, all banned from traveling to Japan because of the coronavirus pandemic.
They gathered nearly 12,000 miles from Tokyo in a crowded ballroom at a resort with hundreds of strangers – at least at first – and created a red, white and blue-themed blowout that rivaled anything they would have experienced abroad.
It turned out to be a support system like no other.
“These people are great,” said Venus Jewett, whose son Isaiah failed to make the 800-meter final after tangling feet with a fellow runner in a semifinal heat. “They get it. … Being here, it’s not like being over there, but it’s a good consolation prize. You can’t get much better than this.”
Parents, siblings, friends and former teammates crowd into the ballroom at the Lowes Sapphire Falls Resort daily to watch the Summer Games and bond with others in a similar situation, all of them unable to be on hand to root for their loved ones competing for gold.
They spend mornings and nights together, smiling and laughing, eating and drinking, screaming and cheering. They’re usually celebrating and occasionally consoling.
Team Dressel was the main event during the swimming competition, with Christina Dressel and Caeleb’s photogenic wife, Meghan, taking center stage for an entire week.
Universal Orlando and NBC invited The Associated Press inside for a sneak peek on the night Dressel set a world record in the 100-meter butterfly and won his third of five gold medals at the Tokyo Games. Most of his crew wore red Speedo T-shirts with Team Dressel printed on the back.
They posed for pictures on the stage, cramming shoulder to shoulder underneath a Team USA banner, and led “U-S-A, U-S-A” cheers that have become a nightly lead-in to NBC’s television coverage.
Christina Dressel quieted the raucous crowd as soon as her son entered the pool area half a world away, eager to hear everything the commentators had to say about her son.
Dressel’s inner circle — his mom, dad, wife, sister and brother — were directly in front of one of two scoreboard-sized projection screens inside the ballroom. Christina and Meghan stood as soon as the race started. His sister joined them. His dad and brother reluctantly followed.
The roars reached a fever pitch when Dressel made the turn in first place, on pace to break the world record. His mom ducked behind his dad for a few seconds, too nervous to watch. But she quickly emerged and started jumping up and down as it became clear Dressel was about to make history.
Read:A pandemic Olympics, without all the crowds: What gets lost?
Christina and Meghan collapsed onto the couch as Dressel touched the wall first. The celebration was just getting started. Mom eventually hugged everyone around her, including Dressel’s Orlando-based agent who was videotaping the rowdy scene for a documentary on his pandemic-altered path to Olympic glory.
Dressel raced two more times that night, finishing first in one 50-meter freestyle semifinal heat and anchoring the 4x100-meter mixed medley relay team that came home a disappointing fifth. Team Dressel was in full effect for both.
Dressel’s family members rented a house in Orlando and routinely took advantage of the hospitality lounge, which was open for breakfast every morning and for dinner and an open bar at night. The emotional video of them trying to chat with Dressel following his second gold medal went viral, bringing extra attention to the family and the venue.
Universal Orlando, NBC, the U.S. Olympic Committee and two sponsors, including Japanese automaker Toyota, offered each Team USA athlete plane tickets and four days of accommodations to the resort and Universal’s three theme parks for two family members or friends. They had the option to purchase more passes.
The lounge serves as its own entertainment district, a full bar in the middle of the ballroom and televisions and tables in every direction. Toyota put several cars on display, including one that could be taken for a virtual test drive and another with a colorful paint job inspired by Dressel’s tattoos. There are games galore, too; table tennis, cornhole, a giant “four to score” board and an extra large Jenga setup.
But those other Games get way more attention.
Jewett brought her 17-year-old daughter, 82-year-old mother and 79-year-old father to the hotel for several days. A former collegiate sprinter and current fifth-grade teacher in Inglewood, California, Jewett had saved for years in anticipation of traveling to Tokyo with her son.
Even after a yearlong delay and a seemingly endless stretch of uncertainty, she was as devastated as any Olympic parent when Japan decided to ban spectators. She settled for Orlando and ended up making new friends and creating lifelong memories.
She was at the lounge when Katie Plum’s daughter, Kelsey, led the United States to a gold medal in 3-on-3 basketball.
“It’s sad to not be there,” said Katie Plum, who moved from San Diego to Las Vegas to be closer to her WNBA daughter. “But this has made it super fun and I’ve learned a lot. But, of course, I’d like to be in the USA House in Tokyo. I’m just grateful they got to go.”
Plum and her family spent two days at Universal Orlando and proudly offered to show off a voicemail from Jill Biden congratulating them on Kelsey’s gold. How did she miss a call from the first lady?
Read: Olympics Latest: 6 banished for breaking COVID rules
“We were waiting in line at Harry Potter,” she said, laughing and shaking her head.
She didn’t miss out on nearly as much while attending the lounge, getting drawn into rugby, rowing, track and other sports.
“We’ve been on all kinds of (emotional) trains,” she said. “You end up trying to support everyone you meet. And you appreciate when people get invested in your kid and want to watch. So you want to give back and sit over by somebody’s couch. I’ve watched some amazing games, stuff I might otherwise not have gotten to see.”
Rapid virus spread through Indonesia taxes health workers
Irman Pahlepi is back at work in Jakarta’s Dr. Suyoto public hospital, immediately resuming his duties treating COVID-19 patients after recovering from an infection himself — for the second time.
With numbers of infections in Indonesia skyrocketing and deaths steadily climbing, health care workers are being depleted as the virus spares nobody, Pahlepi, 30, felt he had no option but to jump right back in.
“We have so many extra patients to treat compared to last year,” he said. “The number of COVID-19 patients is four times higher now than during the previous highest spike in January.”
Read:China logs 75 more Covid cases as Delta cluster expands
Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, had its deadliest day with 2,069 deaths from COVID-19 last Tuesday and fatalities remain high. As of Sunday, total official cases stood at more than 3.4 million with 97,291 deaths, though with poor testing and many people dying at home, the real figures are thought to be considerably higher.
As the region grapples with a new coronavirus wave fueled by the delta variant, Indonesia’s death rate hit a 7-day rolling average of 6.5 per million on Aug. 1, second only to Myanmar and far higher than India’s peak rate of 3.04 that it hit in May during the worst of its outbreak.
Among the dead in Indonesia are more than 1,200 health care workers, including 598 doctors, according to the Risk Mitigation Team of the Indonesian Medical Association. The doctors included at least 24 who were fully vaccinated.
Many others are exhausted from the workload, said Mahesa Paranadipa, who co-leads the mitigation team, making them more likely to fall ill, like Pahlepi.
“We are worried about overburdened workloads lasting for a long time, causing potential burnout conditions,” Paranadipa said. “This fatigue causes the immunity of health care workers to decrease.”
Acknowledging the risks faced by health care workers, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said Monday that a top priority is giving them a third booster vaccine dose. Most who have been vaccinated have received Sinovac, which appears to be less effective against the delta variant, and Indonesia has already begun administering booster shots.
“The boosters, from Moderna, are for health care workers ... so they will be ready for the patients at the hospitals,” Sadikin said.
On top of the lack of medical personnel, Indonesia is also suffering from inadequate supplies.
Pahlepi said his hospital experiences oxygen shortages and is filled far beyond its patient capacity, making it even more difficult to treat people properly.
Over the last two months, it has become common to see dozens of people with severe symptoms waiting in line for a bed in the hospital’s emergency unit, and more lines of people waiting for a space in the isolation ward following treatment, he said.
Some patients have brought their own oxygen tanks with them, and as the hospital’s own supplies have waned, doctors and nurses have had to ask them to share with others.
Read:Myanmar leaders use pandemic as political weapon
Last year, most of the severely ill patients Pahlepi saw were senior citizens. Now, as the delta variant spreads through the country, most of the patients arriving at the emergency room with medium and severe symptoms are children and young adults, he said.
Between his own coronavirus infections, Pahlepi and his wife had their first child — a daughter who is now 5 months old — and he said it’s been particularly hard as a new father to see so many children admitted for treatment with relatively severe symptoms.
“It is difficult to help the infants put on an oxygen hose because they feel uncomfortable when an unfamiliar object is on their face. They need their parents to be with them when we put on the hose,” Pahlepi said.
“Those infants remind me of my baby daughter at home. It makes me sad.”
Pahlepi has been involved in treating coronavirus patients since the beginning of the pandemic, starting as a COVID-19 intake doctor at Gatot Soebroto Army Central Hospital, which was designated by the government as a referral hospital for the disease.
In November, he tested positive himself despite taking precautions. Fortunately, his case was mild and he was able to return to work after recovering in isolation for two weeks.
He tested positive again on July 14 while working extra shifts to help cope with the influx of patients in the recent surge — just one week before he was to receive his first vaccination.
While he was asymptomatic during his first infection, he had severe headaches and his bones ached during the second.
Like many of his patients, he decided to isolate at home. But unlike most, with his training he was able to keep a careful eye on his health, ensuring that his blood oxygen level was adequate and that he didn’t need more advanced treatment.
“There are so many people with heavier symptoms who deserve beds in the hospital more than me,” Pahlepi said in a video interview as he was in isolation.
As soon as he was better, Pahlepi went right back to help his overworked colleagues.
Read:Officials in Tokyo alarmed as virus cases hit record highs
“The emergency unit was full, and we were overwhelmed handling COVID-19 patients,” he said. “The number of patients is beyond our capabilities. We have to use 200% to 300% of our energy every shift.”
Though there is no end in sight for the current wave in Indonesia, Pahlepi’s thoughts are regularly of the day when life returns to normal for his young family and the rest of the country.
“I feel tired — exhausted — but we have to keep our spirits up to make Indonesia successfully free from COVID-19,” he said.
Global Covid cases near 199 million
The overall number of global Covid cases is fast approaching the 199-million mark as different countries continue their battle against the deadlier Delta variant of coronavirus amid slow vaccination rate.
According to US-based Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 198,891,340 while the death toll from the virus reached 4,235,449 on Tuesday morning.
So far, 4,146,057,456 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe.
Read:Covid vaccination reduces chances of hospitalization, mortality: IEDCR study
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 35,131,393 cases. Besides, 613,679 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data.
According to AP, the US on Monday finally reached President Joe Biden’s goal of getting at least one Covid-19 shot into 70% of American adults -- a month late and amid a fierce surge by the Delta variant that is swamping hospitals and leading to new mask rules and mandatory vaccinations around the country.
Brazil recorded 389 more Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 557,223, the health ministry said on Monday.
Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 19,953,501 after 15,143 new cases were detected.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 31,695,958 on Monday as 40,134 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
Besides, as many as 422 deaths due to the pandemic have been reported since Sunday morning, taking the total death toll to 424,773.
Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally, it is worsening as the Delta variant of Covid-19 has now been detected in 124 territories worldwide, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Read: Govt has set up 16,000 Covid beds since the beginning of pandemic: Zahid Maleque
Situation in Bangladesh
The scale of the Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh looks to be overwhelming as the country added 246 fatalities to its national tally on Monday, reporting over 200 single-day fatalities for the last nine days.
The rapid rise in cases and fatalities, driven by the Delta variant, shows the worst days of the pandemic are far from over here since the pace of hospitalisation across the country remains relentless.
The Covid-19 infections are at their peak now, with 14,241 new cases reported on an average each day.
Bangladesh recorded 15,989 new cases on Monday after testing 53,462 samples, up from 13,862 logged on July 30.
The country reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 258 – on July 27 and 16,230 infections the next day.
There have been 1,280,317 infections and 21,262 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate fell to 29.91% from Sunday's 29.97%, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
However, the recovery rate rose to 86.60%, and the case fatality remained unchanged at 1.65% compared to the same period.
Read: Covid in Bangladesh: Seniors far more likely to face the worst
Amid growing concerns about the highly infectious Delta variant, Dhaka division reported the highest 76 deaths, Chattogram 64, Khulna 30, Rajshahi 22, Barishal 16, Sylhet and Rangpur 14 each, and Mymensingh 10.
So far, Bangladesh has administered at least 13,459,811 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 4% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses.
Logging highest 6,182 deaths and 336,226 new cases, July has become the most fatal month since the reporting of first Covid cases in the country in March 2020.
US hits 70% vaccination rate -- a month late, amid a surge
The U.S. on Monday finally reached President Joe Biden’s goal of getting at least one COVID-19 shot into 70% of American adults -- a month late and amid a fierce surge by the delta variant that is swamping hospitals and leading to new mask rules and mandatory vaccinations around the country.
In a major retreat in the Deep South, Louisiana ordered nearly everyone, vaccinated or not, to wear masks again in all indoor public settings, including schools and colleges. And other cities and states likewise moved to reinstate precautions to counter a crisis blamed on the fast-spreading variant and stubborn resistance to getting the vaccine.
“As quickly as we can discharge them they’re coming in and they’re coming in very sick. We started seeing entire families come down,” lamented Dr. Sergio Segarra, chief medical officer of Baptist Hospital Miami. The Florida medical-center chain reported an increase of over 140% in the past two weeks in the number of people now hospitalized with the virus.
Read:Delta variant: Fauci warns of more 'pain and suffering' ahead
Biden had set a vaccination goal of 70% by the Fourth of July. That figure was the low end of initial government estimates for what would be necessary to achieve herd immunity in the U.S. But that has been rendered insufficient by the highly contagious delta variant, which has enabled the virus to come storming back.
There was was no celebration at the White House on Monday, nor a setting of a new target, as the administration instead struggles to overcome skepticism and outright hostility to the vaccine, especially in the South and other rural and conservative areas.
The U.S. still has not hit the administration’s other goal of fully vaccinating 165 million American adults by July 4. It is about 8.5 million short.
New cases per day in the U.S. have increased sixfold over the past month to an average of nearly 80,000, a level not seen since mid-February. And deaths per day have climbed over the past two weeks from an average of 259 to 360.
Those are still well below the 3,400 deaths and a quarter-million cases per day seen during the worst of the outbreak, in January. But some places around the country are watching caseloads reach their highest levels since the pandemic began. And nearly all deaths and serious illnesses now are in unvaccinated people.
The surge has led states and cities across the U.S. to beat a retreat, just weeks after it looked as if the country was going to see a close-to-normal summer.
Health officials in San Francisco and six other Bay Area counties announced Monday they are reinstating a requirement that everyone — vaccinated or not — wear masks in public indoor spaces.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York City airport and transit workers will have to get vaccinated or face weekly testing. He stopped short of mandating either masks or inoculations for the general public, saying he lacks legal authority to do so.
Read:Florida breaks record with more than 21,000 new COVID cases
Denver’s mayor said the city will require police officers, firefighters and certain other municipal employees to get vaccinated, along with workers at schools, nursing homes, hospitals and jails.
Minnesota’s public colleges and universities will require masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. New Jersey said workers at state-run nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals and other such institutions must get the shot or face regular testing.
North Carolina’s governor ordered state employees in the agencies under his control to cover up indoors if they are not fully vaccinated.
And McDonald’s said it will require employees and customers to resume wearing masks inside some U.S. restaurants regardless of vaccination status in areas with high or substantial coronavirus transmission. The company didn’t say how many restaurants would be affected by the new mask mandate.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said a nationwide vaccination requirement “is not on the table,” but noted that employers have the right to take such a step.
The U.S. Senate saw its first disclosed breakthrough case of the virus, with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina saying he has mild symptoms.
In Florida, it took two months last summer for the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 to jump from 2,000 to 10,000. It took only 27 days this summer for Florida hospitals to see that same increase, said Florida Hospital Association President Mary Mayhew.
She noted also that this time, 96% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated and they are far younger, many of them in their 20s and 30s.
Amid the surge, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down on his anti-mask, anti-lockdown stance, warning in a fundraising email over the weekend: “They’re coming for your freedom again.”
Read:Biden lands win, but virus surge threatens to derail agenda
While setting a national vaccination goal may have been useful for trying to drum up enthusiasm for the shots, 70% of Americans getting one shot was never going to be enough to prevent surges among unvaccinated groups. And when he announced the goal, Biden acknowledged it was just a first step.
It’s the level of vaccinations in a community — not a broad national average — that can slow an outbreak or allow it to flourish.
Vaccination rates in some Southern states are far lower than they are New England. Vermont has fully inoculated nearly 78% of its adult population. Alabama has just cracked 43%.
At an extraordinary Olympics, acts of kindness abound
A surfer jumping in to translate for the rival who’d just beaten him. High-jumping friends agreeing to share a gold medal rather than move to a tiebreaker. Two runners falling in a tangle of legs, then helping each other to the finish line.
In an extraordinary Olympic Games where mental health has been front and center, acts of kindness are everywhere. The world’s most competitive athletes have been captured showing gentleness and warmth to one another — celebrating, pep-talking, wiping away one another’s tears of disappointment.
Kanoa Igarashi of Japan was disappointed when he lost to Brazilian Italo Ferreira in their sport’s Olympic debut.
Not only did he blow his shot at gold on the beach he grew up surfing, he was also being taunted online by racist Brazilian trolls.
Read: A pandemic Olympics, without all the crowds: What gets lost?
The Japanese-American surfer could have stewed in silence, but he instead deployed his knowledge of Portuguese, helping to translate a press conference question for Ferreira on the world stage.
The crowd giggled hearing the cross-rival translation and an official thanked the silver medalist for the assist.
“Yes, thank you, Kanoa,” said a beaming Ferreira, who is learning English.
Days later, at the Olympic Stadium, Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar found themselves in a situation they’d talked about but never experienced — they were tied.
Both high jumpers were perfect until the bar was set to the Olympic-record height of 2.39 meters (7 feet, 10 inches). Each missed three times.
They could have gone to a jump-off, but instead decided to share the gold.
“I know for a fact that for the performance I did, I deserve that gold. He did the same thing, so I know he deserved that gold,” Barshim said. “This is beyond sport. This is the message we deliver to the young generation.”
After they decided, Tamberi slapped Barshim’s hand and jumped into his arms.
“Sharing with a friend is even more beautiful,” Tamberi said. “It was just magical.”
Earlier, on the same track, runners Isaiah Jewett of the U.S. and Nijel Amos of Botswana got tangled and fell during the 800-meter semifinals. Rather than get angry, they helped each other to their feet, put their arms around each other and finished together.
Read: Olympics Latest: 6 banished for breaking COVID rules
Many top athletes come to know each other personally from their time on the road, which can feel long, concentrated, and intense — marked by career moments that may be the best or worst of their lives.
Those feelings have often been amplified at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games, where there is an unmistakable yearning for normalcy and, perhaps, a newfound appreciation for seeing familiar faces.
Restrictions designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have meant Olympians can’t mingle the way they normally do.
After a hard-fought, three-set victory in the beach volleyball round-robin final on Saturday at Shiokaze Park, Brazilian Rebecca Cavalcanti playfully poured a bottle of water on American Kelly Claes’ back as she did postgame interviews.
The U.S. team had just defeated Brazil but the winners laughed it off, explaining that they’re friends.
“I’m excited when quarantine’s done so we can sit at the same table and go to dinner with them. But it’s kind of hard in a bubble because we have to be away,” said Sarah Sponcil, Claes’ teammate.
For fellow American Carissa Moore, the pandemic and its accompanying restrictions brought her closer with the other surfers.
The reigning world champion said she typically travels to surfing competitions with her husband and father. But all fans were banned this year, and Moore admitted she struggled without their reassuring presence in the initial days of the Games.
Moore had flown to Japan with the U.S. team 10 days before the first heat, and soon adjusted to living in a home with the other surfers, including Caroline Marks, whom Moore considered the woman to beat.
Moore said she didn’t know Marks well before the Tokyo Games but on the night she was crowned the winner and Marks came in fourth, her rival was the first to greet her.
Read: ‘OK not to be OK’: Mental health takes top role at Olympics
“Having the USA Surf team with me, it’s been such a beautiful experience to bond with them,” Moore said. “I feel like I have a whole another family after the last two weeks.”
After the punishing women’s triathlon last week in Tokyo, Norwegian Lotte Miller, who placed 24th, took a moment to give a pep talk to Belgium’s Claire Michel, who was inconsolable and slumped on the ground, sobbing.
Michel had come in last, 15 minutes behind winner Flora Duffy of Bermuda — but at least she finished. Fifty-four athletes started the race but 20 were either lapped or dropped out.
“You’re a (expletive) fighter,” Miller told Michel. “This is Olympic spirit, and you’ve got it 100%.”
Covid-19 :9 more lives lost in Kushtia
Nine more Covid-related deaths were reported at Kushtia General Hospital in 24 hours till Monday morning amid a devastating virus situation across the country.
“All the deceased had tested positive for Covid,” said Md Mejbaul Alam, statistics officer of the hospital.
Read:Covid-19: 18 more lives lost in Kushtia
Besides, 480 people have tested positive for the virus in the district in the past 24 hours and 1125 samples were tested during the period, he said.
The positivity rate currently stands at 42.66%.
Meanwhile, 226 people are currently undergoing treatment with Covid symptoms at the leading medical facility.
Read:Kushtia man ends up 'fully vaccinated' in ten minutes
So far, 14,896 people have been infected with the virus in the district while the death toll from Covid topped 593. Besides, 11,004 people have recovered from Covid to date.
Global Covid cases top 198 mln
The overall number of global Covid cases surpassed 198-million mark as different countries continue their battle against deadlier variants of coronavirus amid slow vaccination rate.
Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening as the Delta variant of Covid-19 has now been detected in 124 territories worldwide, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Read: 'Moderate, severe forms predominant for Delta strain of Covid'
According to the US-based Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count reached 198,283,776 while the death toll from the virus stood at 4,224,015 on Monday morning.
So far, 4,112,844,213 vaccine doses have been administered across the world.
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 35,001,589 cases. Besides, 613,223 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data.
Brazil registered 464 more COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 556,834, the health ministry said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 19,938,358 with detection of 20,503 new cases.
Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The South American country is experiencing a new wave of infections, which has overwhelmed hospitals, said the ministry.
Read: 'Different levels of antibodies needed for protection from Covid strains'
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,655,824 on Sunday as 41,831 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
As many as 541 deaths were recorded since Saturday morning, taking the death toll to 424,351.
Situation in Bangladesh
With the Delta variant of Covid-19 tearing through Bangladesh, the country reported 231 more deaths in 24 hours till Sunday morning.
Besides, 14,844 people came out positive for the virus after the test of 49,529 samples, said a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
It said the fresh cases took Bangladesh’s total fatality to 20,916 while the caseload to 1,264,328.
Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate marked a negligible fall to 29.97% from Saturday’s 30.24 %, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
However, the recovery rate rose to 86.47% from the previous day’s 86.29 % and the case fatality rate fell to 1.65% from last day’s 1.66 %, said the DGHS media release.
Read: Bangladesh faces harder days as Covid kills 231 more
During the 24-hour period, 15,054 patients recovered from the fatal disease.
Logging highest 6,182 deaths and 336,226 new cases, July has become the most fatal month since the reporting of first Covid cases in the country in March, 2020.
Florida breaks record with more than 21,000 new COVID cases
Florida reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19, the state’s highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic, according to federal health data released Saturday, as its theme park resorts again started asking visitors to wear masks indoors.
The state has become the new national epicenter for the virus, accounting for around a fifth of all new cases in the U.S. as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has resisted mandatory mask mandates and vaccine requirements, and along with the state Legislature, has limited local officials’ ability to impose restrictions meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. DeSantis on Friday barred school districts from requiring students to wear masks when classes resume next month.
Read:Pentagon grappling with new vaccine orders; timing uncertain
The latest numbers were recorded on Friday and released on Saturday on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. The figures show how quickly the number of cases is rising in the Sunshine State: only a day earlier, Florida reported 17,093 new daily cases. The previous peak in Florida had been 19,334 cases reported on Jan. 7, before the availability of vaccinations became widespread.
The state reported 409 deaths this week, bringing the total to more than 39,000 since its first in March 2020. The state’s peak happened in mid-August 2020, when 1,266 people died over a seven-day period. Deaths usually follow increases in hospitalizations by a few weeks.
DeSantis has blamed the surge on a seasonal increase — more Floridians are indoors because of the hot weather with air conditioning circulating the virus. About 60% of Floridians 12 and older are vaccinated, ranking it about midway among the states.
The Florida Hospital Association said Friday that statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations are nearing last year’s peak, and one of the state’s largest health care systems, AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division, this week advised it would no longer be conducting nonemergency surgeries in order to free up resources for COVID-19 patients.
Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld on Saturday became the latest theme park resorts in Florida to again ask visitors to wear masks indoors, with Universal also ordering its employees to wear face coverings to protect against COVID-19, which has been surging across the state.
Read:Biden to launch vaccine push for millions of federal workers
All workers at Universal’s Florida park on Saturday started being required to wear masks while indoors as the employees returned to practicing social distancing. The home to Harry Potter and Despicable Me rides also asked visitors to follow federal and local health guidelines by voluntarily wearing face coverings indoors.
“The health and safety of our guests and team members is always our top priority,” Universal said in a statement.
Health officials on Friday announced that coronavirus cases in Florida had jumped 50% over the past week with COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state nearing last year’s peak.
SeaWorld on Saturday posted on its website that it was recommending that visitors follow recently updated federal recommendations and wear face coverings while indoors.
The change in policy this week at the theme park resorts came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that everyone wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
Read:Should vaccinated people mask up with COVID-19 cases rising?
Crosstown rival Walt Disney World started requiring employees and guests older than 2 to wear masks on Friday, but it also went a step further. The Walt Disney Co. said in a statement that it will be requiring all salaried and non-union hourly employees in the U.S. who work on site to be fully vaccinated.
Disney employees who aren’t already vaccinated will have 60 days to do so and those still working from home will need to show proof of vaccination before returning. Disney said it was discussing the vaccine requirements with the union, and added that all new hires will be required to be fully vaccinated before starting work at the company.