Coronavirus outbreak updates: Jan. 17, 2021

As of 10 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 17

• More than 5,700 new coronavirus cases were confirmed across Japan on Sunday, with the number of hospitalized patients with serious symptoms topping 970 to hit a record high, authorities said.
  
  
• The Japanese government said Sunday it remains committed to holding the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer, reacting to an international media storm sparked by comments from one of its senior ministers.
  
  
• The British government said Saturday it will host a summit of leaders from the Group of Seven industrialized nations from June 11 to 13 in Cornwall, in the southwest of the country.

As of 11 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 16

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday kicked off the first phase of a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the world's second-most populous country.
  
  
• The number of coronavirus patients recuperating at home in Japan reached 30,208 this week, the health ministry said Saturday.
  
  
• The Washington Wizards postponed two NBA games Friday following a coronavirus outbreak among the team that has sidelined nine players, 4including Japanese forward Rui Hachimura.
  
  
• Japan's new unified university entrance exams started Saturday across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  
  
• The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a major shift away from restaurant dining, leaving many chefs in Japan out of work and looking to devise ways to stay in business with their normal clientele reluctant to venture out.
  
  
• The World Health Organization said Friday its panel has concluded that vaccinations against the novel coronavirus should not be mandatory for international travelers, citing uncertainty over effectiveness and supply.
  
  
• The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has exceeded 2 million amid an accelerating pace of fatalities, a tally by Johns Hopkins University of the United States showed Friday.