Here are the top updates from Saturday:

  1. The Union health ministry dismissed speculation about a sudden increase in the number of tuberculosis cases among patients recovering from Covid-19, saying that there was not enough scientific evidence to link the two diseases, PTI reported. However, the Centre admitted that the coronavirus infection can make a person more susceptible to developing tuberculosis, as it is an “opportunistic infection like black fungus”. The health ministry has recommended tuberculosis screening for all Covid-19 patients and Covid-19 screening for all diagnosed TB patients.
  2. India recorded 38,079 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours upto this morning, taking the tally of infections since the outbreak of the pandemic in January last year to 3,10,64,908. The number was 2.23% fewer than Friday’s count of 38,949 cases. The country’s toll rose to 4,13,091 as 560 more patients died due to the infection.
  3. Tokyo Olympics organisers revealed the first Covid-19 case in the Games Village as they sought to reassure competitors that the pandemic-delayed event would be safe. Six days before the opening ceremony, organisers said an unnamed person had tested positive for coronavirus in the Village, where thousands of athletes and officials will stay during the Games.
  4. The European Medicines Agency said that it has not yet received a marketing authorisation application from the Serum Institute of India for its Covishield vaccine. The drug regulator has said that the application was needed to evaluate the vaccine before allowing its use in the European Union.
  5. From Sunday, France will allow the entry of travellers who have been inoculated with the Covishield vaccine, AP reported.
  6. The Delhi drugs control department told the Delhi High Court that it had started the process of prosecution against the Gautam Gambhir Foundation and Aam Aadmi Party MLAs Imran Hussain and Praveen Kumar for allegedly stocking and distributing Covid-19 drugs illegally during the pandemic’s second wave, reported PTI.
  7. Maharashtra recorded 8,172 new infections were recorded in 24 hours, pushing the case count to 6,205,190, according to the state health department. The toll went up by 124 to 1,26,851, according to the Hindustan Times.
  8. The Delta variant of Covid-19 has become the dominant strain across the world, and has caused a rise in deaths around the United States among those who have not been vaccinated, Reuters reported, citing officials.
  9. United Kingdom’s Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he had tested positive for Covid-19 and was isolating at home. Javid said he had mild symptoms of the disease.
  10. The coronavirus disease has infected over 18.96 crore people and killed over 40.78 lakh in the world since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.