COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 1 February

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 1 February

This daily news round-up brings you a selection of the latest news and updates on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.

Top news stories: Tokyo hospitals under pressure as cases surge; Beijing Winter Olympics sees rise in COVID-19 cases; UK government plans to scrap compulsory vaccination for health service workers.



1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 378.5 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 5.67 million. More than 10.08 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

More than half of Tokyo's hospital beds set aside for COVID-19 patients were occupied on Tuesday, a level that officials have previously flagged as a criterion for requesting a state of emergency. The capital and most of Japan are now under curbs to contain record coronavirus cases driven by the contagious Omicron variant.

The COVID-19 situation at the Beijing Winter Olympics is within the "expected controllable range", despite increasing positive cases being detected, a senior official at China's Olympics Pandemic Prevention and Control Office said on Tuesday. The Organizing Committee has reported