North Korea, citing the coronavirus, has become the world’s first country to drop out of the Tokyo Olympics. It’s true that the North is extremely sensitive about COVID-19, knowing that a widespread outbreak in a country with an already battered health system could be disaster. But North Korea also has previously used big sporting events to set up diplomacy with the United States meant to win it much-needed sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament pledges. Some see pulling out of the Olympics as the North sending Washington a message. Here’s a look at the North Korean decision and what it might mean.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the head of the Health Ministry’s Public Health division, said on Tuesday that despite a recent increase in Israel’s reproduction number, the pandemic is beginning to die out in Israel, Ynet reported. Israel R number, how many people each carrier infects, has increased from 0.52 to 0.78 but Alroy-Preis isn’t worried. “The R number is still well below 0.8 and is certainly below 1,” she said. An R number below 1 is an indication that the virus rate is receding. Dr. Alroy-Preis believes that the spike in the R number is due to the increase in the number of virus tests being performed after Pesach. “The pandemic is dying out, albeit at a slower pace. We currently have a little over 300 daily COVID cases.

Champagne, lobster and no masks: That’s what a French TV documentary says is on the menu at one of multiple high-end “clandestine restaurants” catering to the Paris elite, in violation of nationwide pandemic restrictions. What’s even more shocking to the newly confined French public — and exhausted medical staff — is that one organizer claimed government ministers are among those who attend. French authorities are investigating the accusations, and government members scrambled to insist they’re behaving properly.

Susanna Frare said her family decided to take a “calculated risk” attending the home opener of the Texas Rangers, the first major U.S. pro sports event to approach capacity in a stadium since the coronavirus shutdown more than a year ago. The crowd of 38,238 at Globe Life Field was announced as a sellout Monday for the 6-2 loss to Toronto. The retractable roof was open on a 75-degree day with 15 mph winds. “Since it’s at full capacity, that was something that we gave a lot of thought about,” said Frare, holding one young child with another sitting next to her at a table behind seats in the upper deck in left field about two hours before the game.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas flew to Jordan by helicopter on Monday ahead of an official visit to Germany on which he will undergo a health exam, officials said. His office did not provide any further details on the trip, which was not announced in advance. A Palestinian official said Abbas would undergo a “routine health check” in Germany. The official was not authorized to comment and so spoke on condition of anonymity. The 85-year-old Abbas, a heavy smoker with a history of heart problems, has attended public events in recent days and there was no indication he was ill. He received the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine last month. But he has traveled abroad for medical treatment in recent years.

There has been a sharp rise in the number of Israelis waiting for lung transplants in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Yediot Achranot reported last week. The report stated that at least 15 Israelis are currently being tested for compatibility for lung transplants. All of them are currently dependent on ventilators or ECMO machines as a result of coronavirus complications. “There were several coronavirus waves and what characterized the last wave is mainly the younger patients and the intensive care units full of recovered patients in relatively stable condition, but with irreversible damage to their lungs,” said Dr. Liran Levy, a transplant pulmonologist at Sheba Medical Center’s Institute of Pulmonary Medicine.

After months of hoping to receive a COVID-19 immunization and then weeks of fighting the illness after one never came, Air Force veteran Diane Drewes was down to her last few breaths at a hospice center in Ohio when the phone rang. It was a health care worker, calling to schedule her first appointment for a coronavirus shot. Drewes’ daughter Laura Brown was stunned by the timing of the call in January but didn’t lash out over the phone or even explain that her 75-year-old mom was at the point of death. There just wasn’t any point, she said. “But me and my sister were upset that it came too late,” Brown said. “It seemed like the final insult.” More than 247,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. since vaccines first became available mid-December.

A recent study carried out by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston showed that the coronavirus is six times deadlier than the flu. The researchers found that only 210 flu patients per flu season required hospitalization versus 582 coronavirus patients during the same time period, and the average age of the coronavirus patients was younger than that of the flu patients. Additionally, about 30% of coronavirus patients required ventilation versus only 8% of flu patients. Furthermore, the virus patients who required hospitalization had fewer pre-existing medical conditions that would have spurred the need for respiratory assistance. Ventilated virus patients remained hospitalized for an average of two weeks versus three days for flu patients.

The Tokyo Olympics open in under four months, and the torch relay has begun to crisscross Japan with 10,000 runners. Organizers say they are mitigating the risks, but some medical experts aren’t convinced. “It is best to not hold the Olympics given the considerable risks,” Dr. Norio Sugaya, an infectious diseases expert at Keiyu Hospital in Yokohama, told The Associated Press. “The risks are high in Japan. Japan is dangerous, not a safe place at all.” Sugaya believes vaccinating 50-70% of the general public should be “a prerequisite” to safely hold the Olympics, a highly unlikely scenario given the slow vaccine rollout in Japan. Fewer than 1% of the population has been vaccinated so far, and all are medical professionals.

Police officers in Israel have been told not to enforce mask-wearing outdoors despite the fact that it still mandated by law, Channel 13 News reported on Monday. Officers have been instructed not to focus on mask-wearing at all and instead concentrate on enforcing quarantine rules. Coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash said on Monday that a discussion on ending the mask mandate will be held after Pesach. “Wearing masks is far less important in open spaces,” he explained. “But it important for people in groups and closed spaces.” Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Chezy Levy struck a more cautious tone on the issue, telling Army Radio on Monday that mask-wearing will continue to be required due to the 2.5 million children and 1 million adults in Israel who are still unvaccinated.