1. Around two-thirds of Indians above the age of six years, or 67.6% of the population, have antibodies against Covid-19, the government said on Tuesday as it announced the results of the fourth countrywide sero survey, conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research. This means that at least 40 crore people in the country are still vulnerable to SARS-CoV2 – the virus that causes the coronavirus disease.
  2. India on Tuesday recorded 30,093 new cases of the coronavirus, taking the country’s tally of infections since the outbreak of the pandemic in January last year to 3,11,74,322. The daily case count is the lowest since March 17, when the country registered 28,903 new cases. The toll went up by 374 to 4,14,482.
  3. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the deaths caused due to the coronavirus disease in India cannot be less than 52.4 lakh, PTI reported. But, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya claimed that if there was any underreporting of deaths, it was by the states. He said that the Centre only compiles the data given by the states and publishes them.
  4. Meanwhile, the Centre also claimed that states did not specifically report any deaths due to oxygen shortages during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India. The Congress accused the government of misleading the Rajya Sabha with such a response, despite many hospitals losing patients because of lack of oxygen.
  5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs to ensure that they are quick to counter the Opposition about alleged mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic. The prime minister added that a deliberate attempt was being made to mislead people about alleged shortages of Covid-19 vaccines.
  6. The Supreme Court said that the Kerala government’s decision to relax Covid-19 protocols in the state ahead of the festival of Eid-al-Adha, or Bakrid, was “uncalled for”. The court also warned that it will take action against the state government if the decision results in the spread of the coronavirus infection.
  7. The United States has relaxed its travel restrictions to India. The US now has now placed India on level 3, which asks its citizens to “reconsider travel to India due to Covid-19”. On May 5, India was put on the highest category of level 4, which advised against travel.
  8. China reported 65 new cases of Covid-19 – the highest daily tally since January – due to rise in infections in Yunnan province. According to Reuters, cases are spilling over from an “alarming spike” in neighbouring Myanmar.
  9. South Australia entered a week-long restrictions to contain the spread of the Delta variant. An extended lockdown in Victoria and a five-week shutdown in Sydney is already in place.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus disease has infected more than 19.08 crore people and killed over 40.95 lakh in the world since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.