Top 10 Covid updates: UK updates travel advisory for India, removes ‘all but essential travel’ tag
A look at the biggest coronavirus developments of the day.
Here’s what happened on Tuesday:
- The United Kingdom on Tuesday updated its travel advisory for India and now no longer advises against “all but essential travel”. “Following the peak of India’s second Covid-19 wave in May, pressure on the Indian health care system has lifted, as the number of Covid-19 cases has fallen,” the advisory said.
- India registered 25,166 new coronavirus cases in a span of 24 hours, taking the cumulative tally to 3,22,50,679 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. This was the lowest daily number in 154 days. The new infections were 30.87% lower than Monday’s count of 32,937 infections.
- The Delhi government said that all weekly markets that have received permission from the disaster management authority would be allowed to operate, reported PTI. The vendors at these markets would need to ensure that everyone is vaccinated as soon as possible.
- Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced a Rs 1,300 crore relief package to the northeastern states to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, reported PTI. The minister said that the funds were being provided for state governments to buy medicines, increase oxygen supply, and beds.
- Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar urged residents who have recovered from Covid-19 and their families to voluntarily get checked for tuberculosis, reported The Hindu. At least 24 tuberculosis cases have been reported among those who have recovered from the coronavirus.
- India has vaccinated over 56 crore beneficiaries so far, according to a provisional report. As many as 49.48 lakh vaccine shots were administered as of 7 pm.
- Assam has exempted completely vaccinated travellers from undergoing compulsory testing for the coronavirus on arrival in the state provided they carry a Covid-19 negative report.
- The United Kingdom’s health regulator, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, has approved drug manufacturer Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for children aged between 12 and 17, reported The Guardian.
- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern imposed a countrywide lockdown for three days after one Covid-19 case was reported in Auckland city.
- Covid-19 has infected more than 20.78 crore people and led to over 43.71 lakh deaths in the world since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.