Coronavirus Watch: Tokyo Olympics to be held without fans

There will be no fans at the Tokyo Olympics.

The announcement Thursday comes after officials declared a new state of emergency in Tokyo, which takes effect Monday and goes through Aug. 22. The Games begin July 23 and end Aug. 8.

There is still a chance fans could be allowed at events held outside of Tokyo in areas not under a state of emergency. Read more here.

It's Thursday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know:

• The global death toll hit 4 million Wednesday, as the surge in variant cases threatens to overtake progress from the vaccines. The U.S. has the world's highest reported death toll, at over 600,000, or nearly 1 in 7 deaths, followed by Brazil at more than 520,000.
• The Food and Drug Administration could fully approve the Pfizer vaccine this month, former White House senior advisor Andy Slavitt told CNN.
• Seventy-five members of the U.S. House signed a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday saying it's past time to reopen the border with Canada.
• The delta variant is a global problem: Germany’s disease control center on Wednesday announced the delta variant has become dominant in the country. A French government spokesperson said cases increased by 20% from last week because of the variant. And in the U.K., where the variant has also been circulating, officials reported more than 30,000 daily infections for the first time since January.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 33.7 million COVID-19 cases and nearly 606,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 185.2 million cases and more than 4 million deaths. About 55% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 47% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck