What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

HERE'S what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

Wuhan lab staff sought hospital care before COVID-19 outbreak disclosed, WSJ says

Three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) sought hospital care in November 2019, months before China disclosed the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report.

The newspaper said the report - which provides fresh details on the number of researchers affected, the timing of their illnesses, and their hospital visits - may add weight to calls for a broader probe of whether the COVID-19 virus could have escaped from the laboratory.

U.S. CDC looking into heart inflammation in some young vaccine recipients

Some teenagers and young adults who received COVID-19 vaccines experienced heart inflammation, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory group said, recommending further study of the rare condition.

The CDC said the cases typically occurred within four days after receiving the mRNA vaccines. It did not specify which vaccines. The United States has given emergency authorization to two mRNA vaccines, from Moderna Inc and Pfizer/BioNTech.

'A lot to lose': SoftBank's CEO speaks out against Games

Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son warned of significant dangers around holding the Olympics in Tokyo, where the government on Monday kicked off a mass vaccination drive to catch up with other countries and ensure a "safe and secure" Games.

In a series of tweets, the influential SoftBank Group CEO expressed bewilderment and concern about the Tokyo Olympics, calling Japan a "vaccine laggard" and saying the slow inoculation drive less than two months before the start of the Games could put people's lives at risk.

No one's safe anymore: Osaka city crumples under COVID-19 onslaught

Hospitals in Japan's second largest city of Osaka are buckling under a huge wave of new coronavirus infections, running out of beds and ventilators as exhausted doctors warn of a "system collapse", and advise against holding the Olympics this summer.

The speed at which Osaka's healthcare system was overwhelmed underscores the challenges of hosting a major global sports event in two months' time, particularly as only about half of Japan's medical staff have completed inoculations.

'Faster than the virus': India's financial hub gears up for third wave

India's crowded financial hub Mumbai won plaudits this year for tackling the second wave of the pandemic better than any other metropolis in the country - and it is gearing up to get ahead of a potential third wave that experts fear could affect children.

Mumbai is building four mammoth centres across the city with units for children infected with COVID-19 and it is working closely with a special task force that includes some of India's top paediatricians, the city's civic chief said. "If a 2-year-old child becomes highly symptomatic, how can you deposit the child in hospital without the mother?" Mumbai's Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal told Reuters. "We have already started preparing for that ... One should be faster than the virus."